• Open those ears and listen.ear image by Dubravko Grakalic from Fotolia.com
  
  If you aren't listening to your children, your spouse, your co-workers or your boss, you don't hear and process what is being said. As a result, you can not respond appropriately or take the necessary action. Listening is vitally important in all aspects of your life. There are ways to improve your listening skills and become an effective listener.
  
  

Active Listening

• When you listen, listen actively, according to Powertochange.com. Listen to other people as you wish they would listen to you. Don't zone out. Don't fiddle around or become distracted. Look at the person who is talking to you and make eye contact. Check your body language. Leaning forward a bit shows that you are interested.
  
  

Reiterate

• A good way to ensure that you have heard correctly is to ask the speaker, "It is my understanding..." To which the speaker will respond. This keeps both the listener and the speaker focused and on track.
  
  

Verbal Responses

• Instead of merely nodding or murmuring when asked if you understand what has been said, say something. Use some words, don't just mumble. If you are forced to come up with an appropriate response this means you listened to what was said.
  
  

Repetition

• Repeat what you have just heard. You can either repeat it silently, so that you will remember it, or you can say it out loud to the person so he knows that you were listening and understand, according to Moneyinstructor.com.
  
  

Write it Down

• When in doubt, write it down. You will remember a lot more about a conversation when you take notes.
  
  

All Conversations Are Important

• Listen actively and intently at all times because you can't predict, in advance, which conversations are going to be important and worth your time and which don't matter. What your 4-year-old grandchild says to you can be vitally important. Eventually, others will realize that you are a good listener and they will appreciate that. This skill will improve your relationships.
  
  

Open Your Ears

• Effective listening boils down to shutting your mouth, opening your ears and paying attention to what another person is saying.
  
  

We Hear Faster than We Speak

• We can actually hear four times faster than we can speak which means that we are able to rapidly catalog ideas and appropriate responses as soon as we hear what is said.