What I've done to improve my listening skills is I always mirror back what people have said to me. I check in, I ask them, so this is what I hear you're saying, so they can let me know for sure, so I'm in understanding with what they're saying. How I've improved my verbal communication is that I've tried to keep a line of communication open with friends, family, co-workers, always with a back and forth of expressing exactly what it is that I'm trying to express and checking in with them to make sure that they're understanding what I'm saying.