4 things all great listeners know

Dig into different strategies that can improve your listening skills so you can become a high quality listener.

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It’s easy to tell when someone’s not paying attention, but it can be surprisingly tricky to know what good listening looks like. Good listening is one of the most important things we can do to improve our relationships, develop our worldview, and potentially change people’s minds. So what can we do to become better listeners? Dig into different strategies that can improve your listening skills.

Directed by Maryna Buchynska, and action agency.

This video made possible in collaboration with Character Lab

A special thanks to Guy Itzchakov and Harry Reis who provided information and insights for the development of this video.

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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath and Dan Nguyen.

[meloviiii]

Listening to others with sincere interest rather than talking about yourself actually makes them like you a lot more.

[playpower]

1. Removing any distractions, especially phones
2. Trying not to interrupt, asking open ended questions when in break
3. Focusing on the present moment, asking the other if you miss the details
4. Don’t be afraid of silence, both can use those moments to think a more thoughtful conversation.

[david_oliveira]

"The power of deeply listening to another person, with full attention, and without judgment or an agenda, is one of the most profoundly healing acts a person can gift to another." – Jennifer Brandel

[kingflumph]

I especially vibe with the point about "not just waiting for your turn to talk." There's definitely a difference between a person who is engaging with your words and a person who is giving you space but not engaging you. I'm working on this with my students a lot.

[drquix]

Interestingly as a doctor, during medical school we were taught all these things in our courses of how to take a good history from a patient complaining of most symptoms. It's fascinating to see that we were just taught how to be good listeners, and goes to show that being heard solves half the problems even in the medical care sector.

[dangerfly]

It's very important to determine if someone is looking for advice vs emotional support. People constantly seeking validation can be off-putting to a critical thinker looking to actually help and vice versa.

[linski]

Being a listener all my life, people only like to talk about their stuff rather than listening to someone's. I always pay upmost attention when somebody is talking to me about their things. It's strange to have found out that when I talk to them about me no one really cares. So I decided not to talk about myself and just listen to them whatever they say. Sometimes, a listener needs a listener too.

[evanlucas]

One strategy for making a silence less awkward is to repeat back what they said in summary in a ponderous tone like "I can't believe they would...." Or you can simply say "that sounds like a lot to think about."

Both are subtle hints that you are listening and are formulating a good and thoughtful response.

A good response that allows you to share your thoughts without making it seem like you're trying to change someone's mind is asking a hypothetical like "what would you think if ____ had happened instead?" This way you allow them to form their own opinion which could help them understand what you're thinking.

[whatsup]

We need to appreciate Ted ed teams animation. You are doing a great job.

[stefvandreunen]

I have severe ADHD and interrupt people a lot, because of either enthusiasm or just because my brain works like that. What helped me and others a lot is indeed summarising the last sentences someone said. To let them know i was listening and my brain sometimes just takes over.

[NickAndriadze]

It's absolutely correct that ability to listen well to somebody is a very important skill to have.

I also love the fact how the characters in the video are elephants. Because you know, they have big ears and pay attention to everything that happens around them...

[AaronKlapheck]

Do one thing: honestly and truly have a desire to understand the person who is talking. Everything else will come naturally to you if you do this. This is not something you can fake. This is a mentality and mindset you can put yourself into with practice. You will not understand everything a person is saying at all times; this will give you the chance to ask them clarifying questions as they naturally come up.

[biniyamfisseha]

i'm still amazed that this type of content is available for free.

[FinancialShinanigan]

Had to rewatch this video because I got distracted

[anthonymach]

Jokes on you, I’m not even listening to this video.

[cbormann]

Tip 1: remove distractions and try not to interrupt and if you do so wait for natural poses and ask open ended questions
Tip 2: summarize what you just heard
Tip 3: try to stay present and ask for clarification
Tip 4: don't be afraid of silence

[StarBoundFables]

Awesome edutainment, thank you, Ted-Ed 🙏🏼 I made sure to take notes on this 1. Listening is a very important skill which has benefited me tremendously 🗒 One of my fav sayings is: "My favourite resource is PAYING attention" 😄

[nxywegd]

I sometimes use all this 4 tips in direct conversation, and it really works! It helps me to understand their perspectives and personalities even more and helps me to give the appropriate respones and feedbacks. These 4 tips also sometimes encourage my partners to do the same, so we can have a thoughtful, open-minded conversation in respectful manner with highly positive outcomes (both in solutions or emotionally). Thanks Ted-Ed for highlighting these 4 wise acts!

[anishdeshmukh]

This video is so amazing! Ted ed gives such an in-depth insights yet in a simple way
and the style of design, animation and ideation is breathtaking.
I'm quite happy I that we have channels like Ted

[Highlyskeptical]

1. Respond w/ empathy
2. Check for understanding
3. Counter bias w/ evidence