Listening is a skill that can be learned, and more than 35 recent business studies indicated that it's a top skill needed for business success. Joe Takash, a career and performance-management coach and author of Results Through Relationships: Building Trust, Performance and Profit Through People, shares the following tips for becoming a better listener: 1. Practice silence. 2. Eliminate distractions. 3. Focus your attention. 4. Use the "repeat principle." 5. Empathize. 6. Ask good questions.