When people describe a good communicator at work, they’re usually talking about a great presenter — not a great listener. In fact, few business school courses focus on building listening skills and most employee education and training sessions don’t either.

That’s a mistake.

Leaders who listen well create company cultures where people feel heard, valued, and engaged — and employees who experience high-quality listening report greater levels of job satisfaction and psychological safety. Listening is also ranked as the most important oral communication skill in the workplace, above conversing and presenting, respectively.

This is why listening is core to the curriculum I teach MBA students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, as well as global business teams and military leaders. It’s a trainable skill and a game-changer for anyone in a leadership position. If you’re interested in becoming a better listener yourself, here are four techniques you can use to get started.

[Here are the first two.]

Technique #1: Listen Until the End  

You’re likely familiar with poor listening skills: planning what to say while the other person is still speaking, interrupting with a solution, or jumping in with a similar story (“That happened to me, too! In my case…”).

These moments often occur when the listener is trying to find a way to connect. They can also be the result of social anxiety, when the listener feels nervous about how they’ll contribute to the discussion and tries to think ahead.

The problem is that, when you speak too soon or turn the conversation back towards yourself, you diminish the quality of the exchange. For many people, it takes a minute to communicate the main point of their message. If you interrupt them or stop listening before they’re done, you may miss their meaning entirely — making your response moot.

A better approach? Be wholly present.

How to Do It:

Pay attention to your behavior during conversations and try to notice when you turn inwards — when you start thinking about what you’ll say next, get excited about sharing a solution, or reminisce about all the ways you can relate to the other person’s story. In these instances, pause and remind yourself to “listen until the end.”

Once the other person finishes, take a moment to think about what you’ve just heard before responding. The other person will likely appreciate a slower, more thoughtful response than an immediate and possibly irrelevant one.

How This Looks in Practice:

Let’s say you’re in a one-on-one meeting with your direct report. They tell you about their struggle meeting a deadline, and part way through the conversation, you’re tempted to stop listening and start thinking of solutions. Using the “listen until the end” technique can help you counteract the pressure you feel to reply right away. It will force you to slow your mind down, relax, and be present.  You may be surprised by all you’re able to absorb this way.

By listening until the end, for instance, you might learn your direct report’s struggle is linked to a disrespectful client and not an inability to prioritize their to-do list (which you might have assumed). Had you stopped listening in the middle, your input would have been irrelevant, and your employee’s main issue would have remained unaddressed.

Technique #2: Listen to Summarize, Not to Solve

“Listening to the end” is a valuable skill, but it’s not enough on its own. You also need to be aware of how you’re listening. Namely: Are you listening to solve or to understand?

While it may be tempting to solve every problem that’s brought to you — particularly for leaders trying to build trust with their teams — you’ll get further if you first focus on understanding the problem at hand. That’s when this second technique can be useful.

How to Use It:

As you practice being present, keep in mind that you don’t need to remember every single word the other person says. Instead, focus on trying to understand the big picture. You will naturally absorb the most important details as the conversation progresses. When the other person has finished speaking, again, pause to reflect on what you’ve heard. At this point, a useful way to move the conversation forward is to gut check that you understand the speaker’s meaning correctly. You can say, “What I heard you saying is…” then summarize or paraphrase their words. Follow up by asking, “Did I get that right?”

This shows the speaker that your intention is to get on the same page. It will also clarify the concern they’re bringing to you and help build that foundation of trust you may be looking to establish. If your summarization is wrong, that’s okay! To gain more information, you can just say, “Please tell me more,” or “Tell me what I’m missing.”

How This Looks in Practice:

Sticking with our original example, your direct report shares they’re having trouble meeting a deadline because their client continuously gives them contradicting feedback. Every time your direct report makes the requested adjustment, the client seems even more unhappy, and the deadline is approaching.

You could paraphrase, “It sounds like you’re not getting clear feedback from the client and are having some anxiety about delivering a final product to them by the deadline. Did I get that right?” If your direct report says, “yes,” you can then ask, “Let’s talk about some ways to approach them to get on the same page.” This shows your employee that you understand their concerns and helps further build a foundation of trust and support.

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Here is a direct link to the complete article.

Debra Schifrin is a corporate consultant and lecturer in management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. She also leads  corporate and military workshops through Debra Schifrin Consulting. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Debra previously spent a decade as a reporter, director, and producer for National Public Radio and Marketplace.