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# Listening Skills

* How to stop interrupting people: take notes, focus on your breath (when you feel angry)
* Make proper eye contact
* Restate what the other people said in your own words
* Ask open-end questions: Why is that? How did that make you feel? Help me understand. What's your solution? (Don't always try to be the smarter person in the room)

### How to listen to a boring/annoying person

| They are ...                                      | You can ...                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| passionate about something you are not interested | ask how did they become interested in it                                                                              |
| repetitive                                        | tell them you already got the information                                                                             |
| angry                                             | if it's your fault, apologize. Else, restate the situation, understand their needs, show them what you can do to help |
| just having a different worldview                 | ask them for a reason                                                                                                 |