How can you listen actively and facilitate better teamwork?

1 Why listen actively?

Active listening is not just hearing what someone says, but showing genuine interest, empathy, and respect for their message. It involves paying attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing and summarizing what you heard, and giving feedback. By listening actively, you can build trust and rapport with your team members, foster a culture of feedback and learning, and prevent or resolve conflicts.

2 How to listen actively?

As a team facilitator, there are some simple steps you can follow to practice active listening and improve your communication skills. Before the conversation, you should prepare yourself mentally and physically by clearing your mind from distractions, setting a positive intention, and finding a comfortable and quiet place to talk. During the conversation, focus on the speaker and their message without interrupting, judging, or jumping to conclusions. Maintain eye contact, nod, and use verbal or non-verbal signals to show that you are listening and engaged. Ask open-ended questions to clarify, explore, or encourage the speaker. You can also paraphrase and summarize what you heard to check your understanding and show that you are listening. Finally, give feedback and express your thoughts and feelings in a respectful and constructive way.

3 How to facilitate better teamwork?

Listening actively is not enough to foster successful teamwork. As a team facilitator, it's important to create an environment that encourages effective communication, creative collaboration, and goal achievement. Establishing clear expectations and ground rules for the team is a good start - defining the team's purpose, roles, responsibilities, norms and processes. Additionally, you can use icebreakers, brainstorming or voting techniques to encourage participation and diversity of opinions. It’s also important to manage conflicts and emotions constructively - active listening, mediation or negotiation skills can help team members understand each other, express their feelings, and find solutions. Finally, don't forget to celebrate successes and learn from failures - recognition, rewards or reflection techniques can be used to acknowledge your team's achievements, challenges and learnings.

4 How to improve your listening and facilitation skills?

Listening and facilitation skills are not innate, but instead learned and developed over time. To improve your listening and facilitation skills, seek feedback and coaching from others, practice and apply what you learn, and learn from other facilitators and experts. For instance, you can ask your team members or mentors for constructive feedback; you can use tips and techniques from this article in your next team meeting; you can read books, articles, or blogs, watch videos or podcasts, or attend courses or events on listening and facilitation skills. Doing all these activities can help you gain valuable insights into how to become a better listener and facilitator.

5 How to measure your listening and facilitation effectiveness?

Measuring the effectiveness of listening and facilitation can be done by evaluating your own performance and satisfaction, as well as assessing the team's performance and satisfaction. Self-assessment tools, checklists, or surveys can be used to rate listening and facilitation skills, while team assessment tools, feedback forms, or surveys can measure communication, collaboration, and goal achievement. Qualitative data such as testimonials, stories, or case studies can illustrate the benefits and outcomes of listening and facilitation. Quantitative data such as metrics, indicators, or benchmarks can help quantify the impact and value of the facilitation.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?