Listening is a skill all successful tutors must have.
Have you ever missed key information because you weren’t giving someone your full attention?
Many times people will begin thinking about how they will respond while trying to listen at the same time. Doing this will prevent us from listening fully to everything being said by your students and parents.
Here are a few tips so as not to miss anything:
- Face the student while he or she is talking and look them in the eye.
- Try to picture what is being said.
- Don’t interrupt.
- Pay attention to nonverbal cues.
- Summarize or paraphrase what they said back to them and ask if that is correct.
Paraphrasing what someone says back to them allows you to show understanding and is also an opportunity to clear up any misconceptions.
Listening is a skill we want to cultivate in our students, so model the correct behavior.
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
