Why listen when you can talk instead? After all, isn’t talking the way that you get your point across and you get noticed?
Actually, it’s going to save you time and effort if you listen before you talk. People want to know how you can help them meet their needs. By listening to them, you’re increasing the chances that what you’re saying is worthwhile to your audience.
No matter what your position, real listening is a leadership quality that you can benefit from in your work and personal life. Many of us are good at pretending to listen. We continue to work on our computer while our co-worker is talking to us. We think about our own pitch while the client is talking about his or her needs. We’re busy preparing a response to an e-mail while we’re on the phone with someone. It’s easy to come up with an excuse for not listening such as “ I don’t have enough time.” However, not listening can actually be costing you time, efficiency, productivity, relationships, and ultimately, MONEY.
Real listening isn’t easy, especially if you’re accustomed to pretend listening. But it’s well-worth it to develop this skill.
Advantages of Real Listening:
- Improves relationships
- Increases trust
- Helps you better address client needs
- Saves time
- Allows you to provide better service no matter what your industry
- Better collaboration with your team
- Reduces mistakes due to misunderstanding
- Increases results
- Increase sales
Some of my favorite tips for Real Listening:
- Choose a time and place that allows you to really listen. If it’s a private conversation, don’t have it in the sea of cubicles or in a place where you can be easily interrupted.
- Give the person your full attention. Put down your phone. Turn away from your computer.
- Use body language to show the person that you’re engaged in the conversation. Turn your body toward the person. Make eye contact. Nod to acknowledge what the person is saying.
- Paraphrase what was said to show understanding. Showing understanding doesn’t necessarily imply agreement. You can fully listen and show understanding without agreeing with what was said.
- Don’t jump in immediately when the person pauses. Certain personalities need more time to think about how to articulate their thoughts and ideas.
Listening, just like any skill, requires practice. You’ll see gradual changes as you get better at it. So go out there and listen!
I’ll be posting a series of listening articles. Stay tuned!
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