By Kevin L. Polk, Ph.D.

As a busy executive, a lot of your time is taken up dealing with other people. And let's face it, after you are done dealing with someone you are going to feel better about yourself if you think it was time well spent. To feel good you need to come away from the interaction feeling like you have been listened to. Of course you don't have much control over others listening to you, but you do have control over your own listening skills. Chances are it will rub off on the people you listen to and improve their skills.

Poor listening costs you huge amounts of wasted time. Think of the last time you had an argument over what turned out to be a miscommunication. When you add in all the times you have showed up at the wrong place or time you start to get an idea of what a great time saver good listening can be for you.

So how do you go about improving your listening skill? It is really not that difficult. Remind yourself to do the following things and you will be a long way toward being a great listener. First of all face the person you are talking to. Through watching television and riding around in cars people have gotten into the bad habit of not facing one another. Make good eye contact, nod and say stuff like "uh hum." These all show you are listening and force you to actually listen. While you are listening, try and understand the person's point of view instead of thinking of what you are going to say next (another bad habit). You can use who, what, where, when, how, and why questions to clarify what the person is saying to better understand their point of view. I guarantee doing these things will vastly improve your listening skills.

Of course having great listening skills is going to gain you more than just time. Love and money also come to mind. But saved time may be just the motivator you need to become a better listener.

Dr. Polk is a clinical psychologist and stress management expert.

Condensed with permission from the author. Copyright 1992 - 2000 by Kevin L. Polk, Ph.D. (www.timedoctor.com). All rights reserved.