Listening is one of the best communication skills among humans. So, it’s a privilege to be a listener and to have that person acknowledge that it’s something to him/her that you listened to.
How best do you respond to that person’s gratitude? What do you say to make that person feel that he/she didn’t waste their time talking to you?
While you can choose to go with a variety of responses, I have outlined the best responses to “thank you for listening to me” in this article.
25 Of The Best Responses To “Thank You For Listening To Me”
“You’re Welcome”
Of course, on impulse, this is the first response that will come to your mind when you’re being thanked for something. So, you can choose to go with this response.
You can use this response if it was in your place to do the listening and you were not really doing the person a favour by listening. That is, you’re paid to listen.
But, even at that, there are better ways to enhance the quality of your service by giving a more engaging response like the other ones mentioned in this article.
“Don’t Mention”
By saying this, you mean that what you did is something you wouldn’t mind doing again. And this response means that listening to that person is not a big deal for you.
You should also use this response if the person is overly thankful and might embarrass you with his “thank yous”.
Also, when you say, “don’t mention”, you are saying that you didn’t have any difficulty listening to that person.
“I am here for you”
This goes beyond official duty and it’s gone personal. You are assuring the person that you will always be available to listen to whatever the person has to say.
This response is mostly used by a friend to another friend. If you don’t want your friend to feel like he’s bordering you by pouring his heart to you, then use this response.
You are also showing that you care for that person. It might even be a friend at your place of work.
“Anytime”
This is one of the best responses in this case. At this point, you are not just okay having the person talk to you that first time, you are still very okay having the person talk to you any other time.
It shows that you don’t mind listening to the person. Regardless of what the person had to say, you don’t mind being bordered by it.
If you want your friend to be at ease sharing stuff with you, you should say this when he/she thanks you for listening.
“Thank you for sharing with me”
Not everyone feels comfortable sharing stuff with people. I personally do not share things with people I do not connect deeply with. Just as it is not everyone that’s a listener.
This is why you need to thank the person also for being free to talk to you. Especially, if what the person shared with you is deep and personal.
It’s a privilege to have someone in a higher position share a secret, an event, or personal issues with you. You should be grateful to that person in turn.
“It’s my pleasure”
Here is another way to respond to “thank you for listening to me”. If you do not want to repeat “you’re welcome”, then use this.
By saying this, you imply that it was a pleasure listening to whatever that person said. Sometimes, it might not be what the person said, it might be the person.
The pleasure might not come from what the person said, the pleasure might be because of the person speaking. You just enjoy listening to that person.
“I’m glad I listened”
At this point, you are being specific. You are glad you took out time to listen to the person without regrets.
You should say this if you were able to garner some lessons from listening to the person. Or, if you were able to make the person avoid making a certain decision that’s disastrous.
Show your gladness by not just saying, “you’re welcome”. This response will have a more positive effect on the person than a flat “you’re welcome”.
“It’s nothing”
This is an alternative to “don’t mention”. If you don’t want to repeat that phrase to the same person or even to another, use “it’s nothing” instead.
When you say this, you are letting the person know that it’s actually nothing the person should border on. It wasn’t a burden to you to listen to the person.
This has a way of making the person feel better even if you don’t say any other thing about what he/she says to you.
“Anything to make you feel better”
This is a better way of responding to “thank you for listening to me”. You are letting your intentions known to the person and that’s you being sincere.
Your aim is to make the person feel better, especially if the situation is bad already for him/her. The fact that you suspended everything else just to listen speaks to your concern for the person.
So, when he is thankful, let him know that you did it because you care for his mental and emotional health and you’ll do anything to enhance that.
“No issue”
You should use this response if the person thought that he might have bordered you or it’s actually a problem to you having to listen to the person.
Reassure the person it’s no big deal lending your ears to him/her. It didn’t cost you anything and you’re not ready to acknowledge that it cost you your time.
This response is most suitable if it’s between a guy and a guy. Guys like using this phrase to their fellow guys. Assure your friend who’s a guy that it’s no problem to you.
“Sure!”
This could mean either of these two things: sure, the person ought to be thankful to you, or sure, you ought to listen to the person.
Whichever one you mean, just let your facial expression tell the particular message you want to convey. But, I’ll suggest that you say it when you mean that you ought to listen to the person.
It might be a mother responding to a daughter who just opened up to her. Sure, you must listen to your kids as a parent.
“That’s fine/okay”
You can either say, “that’s fine” or “that’s okay”. You are saying the same thing. At this point you are totally fine listening to the person.
You can use this phrase if the person is insisting on thanking you over and over again. Let him/her know that you are totally fine being the one to listen.
It can be embarrassing to find out that you have just revealed a deep part of you to a stranger. As the stranger, assure that person that it’s fine by you.
“The pleasure’s mine”
A different way of saying, “it’s my pleasure”. In fact, they mean the same thing. The difference lies in the syntactic structure of the sentences.
But, it can mean something different to the person you’re saying it to. This can be more effective depending on how you say it. Do well to let the pleasure show on your face while saying it.
Personally, I think, “the pleasure’s mine” sounds better in my ear than “it’s my pleasure”.
“I’m sure you’d do same”
At this point, you are certain that the person would do exactly the same thing if you were in the same situation. You are actually doing a good deed expecting the same in future.
Sometimes, you may not even do that to expect a refund, but you believe that you wouldn’t be stranded if you needed someone to listen to you.
When you say this, you are letting the person know that you trust the person and you don’t mind doing him/her the favor. It’s actually a good feeling to know that whatever you’re doing for someone can be equally reciprocated.
“Absolutely!”
It’s another way of saying, “sure”. This is like the highest form of assurance to that person. “Absolutely, I’m very okay listening to you”. “It’s absolutely a privilege!”
“Absolutely, you can talk to me at any time”. These are some of the ways to use “absolutely” when responding to a “thank you for listening to me”.
It goes beyond assuring the person for the moment, it assures the person about any future situation that he/she has to talk to you about. It’s reassuring to know that I have a friend who is ready to listen.
“It’s my obligation”
You can choose to say, “it’s my obligation”. When you say this, you’re saying, “I’d rather get paid to listen to you than nothing”. Even if it comes as an obligation, you’re available to listen.
This is appropriate coming from a parent to a child or ward. Let your children know that it’s your duty to listen to them as a parent and that will make them keep coming to talk to you.
As a spouse also, let your partner know that it’s your responsibility to listen to whatever he/she has to say. Whether what the person says makes sense or not.
“It’s really no big deal”
Again, use this when the person is insisting on thanking you over again. Let the person know that it’s not something he/she should make a big deal of.
You can say this if you actually enjoy listening to people. It’s not a problem to you and it doesn’t matter the person’s relationship with you, you are available to listen.
Some people might want to feel indebted to you because you lent your ears to them. And it’s normal. But, you have to reassure the person that it’s not something he/she should worry about.
“To help you, it’s the least I can do”
This is if you actually wanted to help and you realized that the person needed your help badly. The least you could do at that moment was to listen.
Oftentimes, people share their burdens not because they want you to do something about it, they just want to have someone listen to them. And by doing so, you’ve helped them a lot.
So, you need to let the person know that you could do more to help if you were able to. Believe me, that’s so reassuring.
“Don’t sweat it”
Use this response if the person is thinking of using other measures to thank you. Some people may go as far as offering money or promising some help to the person who listened to them.
If you don’t want to accept the offer, just tell the person, “don’t sweat it”. That will bring to a halt whatever idea the person has to reciprocate your good gestures.
There’s nothing bad in accepting a “thank you” gift, but it may look like you did it for the gift. So, it’s best to politely reject the offer or promise to accept it next time.
“Thank you too”.
Simple and direct! This is one of the best responses to give in this case. You are also letting the person know that you are equally thankful.
Maybe, at some point, you also got to share a bit of yourself to the person and you both listened to each other. So, it’s best if you also thank the person in return.
You might not have said any other thing to the person, you just have to thank the person for talking to you at least. It’s a privilege.
“It feels good to hear you speak”
Of course, you must have enjoyed listening to the person. That’s why you didn’t stop him halfway and you didn’t leave him at that point.
Let the person know that he is also doing you good by talking to you. You either enjoy the person’s voice or there’s just something about the person that makes you keep listening.
So, it’s not out of place to say, “it feels good to listen to you”. This statement can be flirting depending on how you say it. If you intend flirting with the person, then let your facial expression show that.
“Definitely can’t miss listening to you”
400;”>Say this to someone you wish to flatter. There are people who love flattery and it’s good if you’re interested in that person. This might be someone you’ve listened to before.
The person might be tempted to feel that she is a border for coming back to talk to you. Tell the person you definitely can’t miss listening to him/her. That will make the person smile.
In a way you’re saying that, you can miss any other big opportunity, but you can’t afford to miss listening to him/her. It’s flattering and it feels good to hear that from someone.
“No problem, I usually listen to beautiful voices”
Oh wow! There’s no one that won’t smile after hearing this. Make the person feel special, especially if what the person told you about was embarrassing.
Let the person know that you are not focused on the story but on the voice. The story may not matter at the moment, but you’re interested in the voice and the owner of the voice.
You should say this to someone you have an interest in. It will be easier to get the person interested in you too this way. Don’t forget to be sincere while saying this.
“What can I do?”
“What can I do? Your story is enthralling and captivating and I’ve got no other choice but to listen”. So, even if you didn’t want to listen at first, you were drawn by the story.
You can also say, “what can I do? The person speaking to me is so attractive and I couldn’t bring myself to leave”. It shows that you had something keeping you, there was something that made you listen.
You might not be interested in the person, but you are so kind that you couldn’t stop listening to the person. Especially, when you knew that the person needed someone to listen to him/her.
“That’s my favorite hobby!”
Strange right? The truth is, there are people whose hobby is just to listen to other people. Isn’t that why some people have the radio as their best companion?
If you listen to the person for listening’s sake, then let the person know that it’s one of the things you do and he/she is with the right person by talking to you.
There’s this satisfaction that comes by knowing that the person you just spoke to liked listening to you, regardless of what you said.
Finally
Listeners are rare in the entire world. To be able to listen to someone and have the person thank you for that is something great. Make the person know that he/she didn’t waste time talking to you by giving any of these responses.