Despite being taught the importance of listening from a young age -- think about how many teachers have asked you to "put your listening ears on" -- the truth is, most of us aren't as good at the skill as we ought to be.
Research shows that the average person listens with only 25 percent efficiency -- meaning there's a lot we're letting go in one ear and out the other. But as listening expert Paul Sacco, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, explains, there are just a few simple habits that set the real good listeners apart from the rest.
"We all have a good listener within us," Sacco tells The Huffington Post. "It all just depends on the ability and desire to be mindful of where you are and who you're talking to. A lot of us are focused on the mechanics of listening -- eye contact, nodding your head -- but for good listeners, there's a naturalness to that behavior that we should all aspire to."
As Greek philosopher Epictetus once theorized, "We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak." So how do we start using those features more proportionally -- or, as Sacco advises -- access our inner good listener? Below are nine habits that good listeners practice in their everyday lives and conversations that you can adopt for yourself.
They're present.