I seems as if, everywhere you turn, people are talking about more effective ways of communicating. Magazines publish articles on improving communication in our interpersonal relationships; corporations hire communication consultants to improve teamwork and productivity; schools offer advanced courses in communication skills. Although considerable attention is focused on speaking and writing, social scientists are discovering what psychologists, counselors, and social workers have known all along: effective listening is the key to all successful communication.

You are probably asking, "How are listening skills related to my career?" For one thing, without the ability to listen effectively, you are unlikely to discover what a director, manager, conductor, choreographer, or other employer is really looking for. Listening well is often the key to a successful interview. This article is a primer on the listening skills that improve communication and encourage rapport.

Of the four modes of communication -- listening, speaking, writing, and reading -- we spend the majority of our time listening. In the 1980s, corporate trainers began offering seminars on listening skills, which many people laughed at. After all, if you can hear, you're listening -- right? Actually… it's more complex than that. By the early 1990s, enough companies were discovering the benefits of listening skills to recommend specialized training for their employees. Today, listening seminars are being offered across the country, everywhere from Fortune 500 companies to grass-roots organizations.

Most of us consider ourselves to be good listeners. We feel needed when friends search us out to share a personal issue. We never question our ability to listen, or think about ways to improve this skill. We believe that, when we want to, we can listen well.

But the truth is that listening is a skill that must be practiced in order to be effective. Raw skill, like raw talent, can only take us so far. There are dozens of mistakes that we make as listeners in our daily communications that prevent us from reaching greater understanding. Here are a few tips that can help you to improve your own listening skills:

Dr. Carl Rogers, the renowned founder of the humanistic psychology movement, described listening as "understanding with a person, not about him." He went on to define listening as "seeing the expressed idea and attitude from the other person's point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to achieve his frame of reference in regard to the thing he is talking about." This definition may appear absurdly simple. But Rogers argued that few of us actually listen in that way. If you practice listening non-judgmentally, with sincere empathy, you will undoubtedly discover a new world of communication. You will probably find out things about other people that you never saw before. And if you are truly listening to another person, you will hear and discover a new side of yourself.

Please e-mail any comments, questions, or ideas for future columns to careerfile@juilliard.edu.

Derek Mithaug is Juilliard's director of career development and an alumnus of the School.