Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will allow you to:

（具备）良好的听力技巧能提高工作效率。全神贯注地去倾听，会使你受益匪浅：

*better understand assignments and what is expected of you;

能够更好地把握工作职责，明确自己要达成的目标；

*

build rapport¹ with co-workers, bosses, and clients;

更容易与同事、老板及客户相处；

*work better in a team-based environment;

更易于融入团队工作环境；

*resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses;

能与客户、同事、老板共同解决问题；

*find underlying² meanings in what others say.

能够察觉说话人的言外之意。

How to Listen Well

如何聆听

The following tips will help you listen well. Doing these things will also demonstrate to the speaker that you are paying attention.

以下建议能够帮助你提高听力效果。做到以下这些，你也能够让对方感受到你对他很重视。

*maintain eye contact;

保持眼神接触；

*don't interrupt the speaker;

不要打断对方；

*sit still;

坐着不要乱动；

*nod your head;

不时地点点头；

*lean toward the speaker;

身子向对方微倾；

*repeat instructions and ask appropriate questions when the speaker has finished.

当对方讲完了，可以重复下对方说的话，也可以恰当地问些问题。

A good listener knows that being attentive³ to what the speaker doesn't say is as important as being attentive to what he does say. Look for non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and posture⁴ to get the full gist⁵ of what the speaker is telling you.

一个好的聆听者懂得，注意对方的话外之音也是同样重要。你可以从对方的面部表情和身体姿势等细节中获得信息，以便完全掌握说话人所想对你表达的看法。

Barriers to Listening

听人说话时常遇到的障碍

Beware of the following things that may get in the way of listening

.

注意以下各个因素，这些可能会影响到你听人讲话。

*bias or prejudice;

感情倾向，或是对某些事物的偏见；

*language differences or accents;

语言不通或者说话人讲方言；

*noise;

附近有噪音；

*worry, fear, or anger; and lack of attention span.

带有焦虑、害怕或者气愤等情绪；注意力不能长时间集中

Listening Starts Early

尽早开始练听力

If you have children you know what it's like to feel like you're talking to a wall. Kids have an uncanny ability to appear to be listening to you while actually paying no attention at all. While this is something that may pass with age it is important to help children develop good listening skills early. They will do better in school and you will keep your sanity⁶. As the SCANS report points out, good listening skills will prepare children to eventually succeed in the workforce⁷.

如果你有小孩子的话你就会知道，对着像一堵墙一样的人讲话是什么感觉。孩子实际上并没有听你在讲什么，但是他们具备这种让你看似他们在听的能力。随着年龄的增长，人的身体有些机能（如学习能力）可能会下降，那么想练就好的听力，就要从娃娃抓起。这样，他们在学校里表现会更出色，家长也能省点心。正如SCANS的调查报告显示，良好的听力能够帮助孩子在今后的工作中最终走向成功。