An experienced sales operations and finance professional who has spent time at Siemens AG and Hewlett-Packard, Diane Kaern has built her career in part thanks to her strong communication skills. For professionals like Diane Kaern, good communication starts with effective listening.

1. ARE YOU AN ACTIVE LISTENER?
Diane Kaern

2. INTRODUCTION
 An experienced sales operations and finance professional
who has spent time at Siemens AG and Hewlett-Packard,
Diane Kaern has built her career in part thanks to her
strong communication skills. For professionals like Diane
Kaern, good communication starts with effective listening.
Effective listening has several components. In Western
cultures, effective listeners usually make eye contact and
generally move close to the speaker to make sure they
can hear and process information. Likewise, good
listeners avoid interrupting or offering solutions before the
speaker is finished explaining the situation or problem.

3. ACTIVE LISTENING
 If they need to ask clarifying questions, adept
listeners wait for a pause in the dialogue to do
so.
Knowing how to ask good questions also figures
into good listening. Questions should be framed
in a way to enhance understanding of the topic.
Unless the listener is just making small talk,
asking about a minor detail or distantly related
topic can derail the conversation and ultimately
leave key information unmentioned.