Site Management Ears to the Ground: Listening Skills for your Community

[joelr]

We often think about being good communicators as saying the right things, but what about listening? I’ve been thinking about how listening skills can make or break the way we connect with people in our online communities. Leaders who truly listen can create spaces where members feel heard, valued, and engaged—and isn’t that what community building is all about?

There are different ways to practice listening that can make us better leaders and members. For example:

• Listening until the end: How often do we interrupt someone or assume we know what they’re saying before they finish?
• Listening to summarize, not to solve: Instead of jumping in with solutions, what if we made sure we actually understand someone’s point first?
• Balancing relationships and content: Are we focusing on building trust between members or solving problems—or can we do both?
• Listening for values: What do our members’ concerns reveal about what’s most important to them?

In a forum, listening well could mean slowing down before replying to a post, asking clarifying questions, or even noticing the recurring themes in what members say.

So, let’s talk:

• How do you practice listening in your online community?
• Have you ever felt truly heard by someone in a forum, and what impact did that have?
• What challenges come up when you try to listen better—and how can we overcome them together?