In today’s high-tech, high-speed world where everyone seems to have their heads buried in their mobile device, it is still important to have good Listening skills. This is doubly important if you are a fundraiser as you much reach out to people in person at some point. Here are 7 suggestions to help you develop effective listening skills and improve your fundraising efforts.

• Face the speaker and maintain eye contact: Eye contact is a basic ingredient of effective interpersonal communications. Therefore, make sure that the person you are listening to knows that you have their undivided attention as they speak. Further, think about how irritating you have found it to be in your own life when someone you are talking too seems distracted in some way.
• Be attentive, but relaxed: Once you are focused on what the speaker has to say don’t go overboard. Be attentive but be loose and show that you comfortable in his/her presence.
• Put yourself in their shoes: People always appreciate it when you demonstrate empathy. Imagine that you are in the speaker’s shoes and are attempting to get the same information across to a listener.
• Practice active listening: Instead of thinking about the next thing that you are going to say while someone is speaking, practice active listening. That is, focus completely on what the other person is saying and not too much on what your response will be.
• Listen to the tone of their voice: Vocal tone can tell a listener a great deal about what the speaker is thinking and what mood he/she is in. Moreover, a person can say one thing while their vocal tone indicates another.
• Pay attention to their body language: Just as a person’s tone can tell you a great deal about what a person is thinking, so too can body language. In fact, many studies conclude that most communication is in the form of body gestures, movements, facial expressions, etc.
• Ask open-ended questions: Open-ended questions are questions requiring more than a one word response. They are designed to promote longer, more thoughtful responses than close-ended questions. Asking the speaker open-ended questions lets he/she know that you are listening to and considering what they are saying.

If you go into every interaction with curiosity and genuine interest about what your potential donors/partners are saying these tips will help your fundraising enormously. You can give your school an even greater advantage by engaging in discount card fundraising. You can then use discount card fund raising to partner with merchants who are supportive of your cause and because you are a good listener will be more likely to help you.

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