Almost everyone manages to pay attention to what is being said. However ensuring that you productively listen to what is being said requires more than just natural abilities, it needs practice. A crucial skill, it is how well you listen that can make sure that you don't miss out any key points that are being discussed with you. With meetings becoming the norm of the day, it is imperative that every individual stays focused and gleans out what pertains to one's work without getting their thoughts muddled by everything that will be discussed. Here are a few pointers that you can keep in mind to make sure that you never lose track, and remain all ears productively.

Pay attention to what is being said
Unless the person you are talking to is a really fast talk talker, most often than not, you are bound to have enough time in your hand to think about another task or even a personal engagement. The human brain is well-equipped to handle close to a 1000 words per minute, and it is obviously true that no one has ever been forced to listen to that many words in about a minute. So the down side is that you have enough time to let your thoughts wander away, which will have to be curtailed. This is not easy and it definitely warrants practice. Paying complete attention without missing a thing is no mean task, so to start of with limit the times your mind wanders away and slowly yet definitely start making your mind stay focused on listening.

Stop jumping the gun
Do you find yourself hearing only what you want to hear and not what is actually being said? Most of the time people have the tendency to interpret in mid-sentence what is being said, making it impossible to hear the remaining, thereby jumping to their own conclusions. This is often true when it is a discussion where you strongly disagree with what is being said. Your personal interpretations, even before the speaker completes what they want to say, can stop you from really coming to the right conclusion and taking the right decision. Hence wait to hear fully before you decide to interrupt or speak up.

Show that you're listening
Do you let the speaker know that you're paying attention? If you think it's not necessary to do that, think again. It is always non-verbal communication that sends out a louder message than a verbal one, and letting the speaker know that you're not really in the mood for listening can only kill the conversation. The minute you start looking dazed, check the time every few minutes, fiddle with things on the table and start sending out other not so subtle messages that you're not listening and you can most certainly kiss the discussion good-bye.

Paraphrasing for success
A lot o people underestimate the importance of paraphrasing a conversation. What most people do not realise is that when you paraphrase a discussion, you not only repeat what the other person had said but also make sure that you've understood what is being said and would like to let the others know that, thereby ensuring you've not missed any points.

Stop getting defensive
Most problems arise when you start taking personally whatever is being said. And at work this could have terrible repercussions since people usually get visibly angry when they feel their point of view is not being accepted, when it might not be the case. So listen completely and then later politely state your side or at the very least accept that you see the whole situation differently. Interrupting and defending your point even before the other person states what they have made out of a particular situation will only lead to ill-feeling and is also a criminal waste of time. Every time you get stirred-up, hold yourself back, just remember that its not personal, it's business.

Ask Questions
When you've heard everything that is being said, you are bound to have questions and might even need some clarifications, so ask. Don't assume that asking is wrong; just make sure you ask the right questions so that you will be provided with the right answers. But do remember that when you're at it, you don't sound like you've already come to your own conclusions. An open-ended question will always make sure that you get the appropriate answer and are not considered impertinent. And at the end of day, the more answers you have the easier your job becomes.

And as you go about polishing up your listening skills do remember that, listening to what is not being said is equally important to what is being said. Pay equal attention to everything to have a more productive discussion.