What have I done to improve my listening skills? I have listened. I worked for an insurance company that had us do courses on listening skills. In response to those courses, we had to pick up from the listening of the course, the topic, and what the individual was trying to say. So it's very important to listen to what the individual or the customer or the client has to say, because from what I've learned over the time, if you listen carefully, they will tell you how, what they want, and how to close the sale just by listening.