Four Golden nuggets of Effective ListeningWritten by Eric Plantenberg
Why should I improve my listening skills?It's a great question. For simple reason that a person's listening skills are a central component to most of activities people care about. Your ability to understand what others are trying to tell you, to grasp details about projects, to learn information about a customer's needs, or to understand what is going on in your family's life all depend on your ability to effectively listen. While most people possess ability to hear, many have never taken time to consciously develop ability to listen. Here are four golden nuggets to help you improve your listening skills: Slow down and relax. The fact that your mind can think at least 7 times faster than people can talk identifies much of problem right from start. To maximize amount of information you are receiving from a conversation, you must minimize number of thoughts that are racing through your mind. To help you slow down and relax, you might try taking slow deep breaths or sitting down. Both can often help slow your pace if you are feeling rushed. Focus on what is being said. That means no multi-tasking! Splitting your attention between something other than what is being said, whether that is reading, typing in your computer, or even taking notes, are all significant distractions to you ability to listen. It is also frequently annoying or even disrespectful to person who is speaking.
| | Web Conferencing TipsWritten by Adi Gaskell
Preperation is vital when conducting a successful videoconference session. Thus there are a number of steps to remember prior to videoconference session itself: Always test equipment before hand. The WebVideo4U software is extremely reliable but it always pays to test software prior to videoconference itself. There may be problems with Internet connection, webcam or microphone. Better to find out in time to rectify problem than have embarrassing delays during videoconference itself. Double Check Timezones The beauty of global communication also comes with pitfall of negotiating different timezones. Always check timezones, double check them and confirm with both parties to ensure that there are no embarrassing hickups. There are also several important steps to take when setting things up at your end to ensure that videoconference runs smoothly. Camera Angles It seems an obvious thing but it doesn't look very professional if your fellow videoconference attendees can only see top of your head or your neck. Make sure you've got camera set up so that your head is fully in shot and try and leave about 10% headroom. Microphones
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