Becoming A Good Listener Turns Out To Be More Supportive, Here Are 6 Tips

Illustration of tips to be a good and supportive listener (Freepic)

YOGYAKARTA Providing a myriad of advice may make a person look wise but not always needed. If you are trusted to listen to the complaints of those closest to you, you can develop good listeners' skills without stringing sentences to give advice. To be a good listener and provide support or be supportive, do the following tips.

Before you provide assistance, first ask the person. Maybe you and he often share stories, but before that, it's a good idea to first ask what can be done. Sometimes, someone just needs ears to listen to. They can take action on their own so that providing assistance without being asked can worsen the situation.

If you listen to understand rather than respond, it means you have been practicing listening actively. Listen actively, reported by PsychCentral, Thursday, August 31, requires vigilance and focus on what is being heard.

According to research in 2022, to be an active listener, it is recommended to focus on the speaker, listen to what the speaker says, use your own words to parate what you hear, ask clarification questions, avoid giving judgments, avoid assuming, and don't formulate responses until you hear all messages.

If you are trusted by someone to listen to its vulnerabilities, it might be useful to admit their feelings. If it's genuine, validating other people's feelings can be a powerful means of communication. Validating a person's feelings might be able to with the phrase I can understand why it's a challenge for you. By validating his feelings, showing the speaker that you understand what they are communicating with.

When someone is open to you, giving a lot of advice may be tempting. But giving advice too quickly may make other people feel insecure about expressing their complaints. So, avoid judging and don't embarrass them. That way, you become a trustworthy person and make them feel safe.

Sharing compassion helps improve your relationship and well-being as a whole. The researchers argue that there is no universal definition of compassion and compassion is one of them.

Practice affection can be done by showing concern, recognition or validation, and helping ease the burden. When compassion is applied to be a good listener, it may be possible to provide more support to those closest to you.

Empathy is about putting yourself in someone else's position. Not feeling sorry, but you need to understand their situation so that it's easier to give support. Well, being an active listener can help you train empathy. It may be challenging to just listen without giving advice. But you can train and be a reliable supporter to those closest to you.