Type A Personalities Can Be Good Listeners

Summary: Although we know that being a good listener goes against the typical Type A personality traits, it is a trait that they can work on developing with some tips to help.

We all know who they are, maybe it is ourselves, but Type A personalities are all around us. They are competitive, critical of themselves, and impatient. Stephen Garber of the coaching firm Third LEVEL, describes them as “Type A personalities are usually so busy driving themselves and their teams forward that it is uncomfortable for them to pause long enough to listen.”

Listening is a problem for everyone, especially Type A’s. Being able to effectively listen is extremely important in our professional and personal lives. Here are five tips for those that are a Type A on how to become better listeners.

1. Understand that listening is worth your time. A positive trait for Type A is that they are highly effective at focusing on a task. If they can make themselves see the task as listening then they will be set to be a good listener.
2. Listen and watch for the emotion first. When focusing doesn’t work, listen and see how they are describing their attitude and feelings about something. Figuring out the “how” will make the “what” make more sense.
3. Remember WOA before cutting someone off. “W” stands for wait, “O” stands for observe, and “A” stands for allow. This means before cutting in take a deep breath, hear what the speaker is saying, and be accepting of other solutions besides your own.
4. Don’t mental multitask. Your only thoughts should be on the speaker and what they are saying, forget about planning the rest of your days tasks.
5. “I hear you.” Say this to the speaker when they are done. It shows that you are listening to what they have to say without agreeing or disagreeing.

Photo: capitaldistrictvitalitycenter.com