Active Listening

How to complete Active Listening

Five uninterrupted minutes sounds trivial until you try it: most people break in, glance at a screen, or start loading their reply. Giving someone your whole attention for that span is a concrete skill that makes the other person feel genuinely heard.

1. Put your phone fully out of sight, not just face-down, before they start
2. Decide in advance you won't speak until they've clearly finished a thought
3. Watch their face and let short silences breathe instead of rushing to fill them
4. Use small nonverbal cues, a nod, eye contact, rather than verbal interruptions
5. When they pause, reflect back what you heard before adding anything of your own

Tips

• Notice the urge to jump in with your own story, then let it pass
• 'Tell me more' keeps them going without hijacking the topic
• Pick a moment when someone's actually talking about something that matters to them

What counts as done

Someone spoke to you for a full five minutes and you never interrupted or touched your phone.