​​How to learn to listen without interrupting

When you're in a conversation with somebody, how long does it take before you interrupt? Whether you want to voice your opinions or simply contribute to the speaker’s story, it’s easy to interrupt without realizing it.

A lot of the time, it's tempting to contribute to a conversation before the other person has finished speaking. Although you might not mean to interrupt with malicious intent, it can sometimes seem dismissive when you're speaking over the other person or people.

Having great listening skills means being conscious of when to speak in a conversation while showing the other person or people that you're genuinely interested in what they have to say. It also means that you aren't daydreaming and thinking about what you're going to eat for dinner that evening while you're in the middle of a conversation.

You can develop your listening skills and becoming a better active listener can help strengthen your personal and professional relationships.

Here are some easy tips to help you learn how to listen without interrupting in the middle of a conversation and, instead, become an active listener.

• Focus your attention on the person or people you're speaking to and make regular eye contact with them
• Fight the urge to interrupt and give your two cents before the other person has stopped talking
• Pick out key pieces of information and use it to think of questions to ask
• Use open and inviting body language to make the other person or people in the conversation feel comfortable
• Lean forward, smile, and nod in acknowledgment (instead of interrupting) to show that you're listening