Improving Your Listening Skills
by:
Charles Lamson
The success of meetings and teams of individuals and companies depends on effective listening. The importance of listening is self-evident. If a person will not or cannot listen, the speaker's message simply will not get through. Some 80 percent of top executives say that listening is the most important skill needed to get things done in the workplace (Business Communication Today 8th ed; by Courtland L. Bovee and John V. Thill; pg.49).
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Effective listening strengthens organizational relationships, enhances product delivery, alerts the organization to opportunities for innovation and allows the organization to manage growing diversity both in the workforce and in the customers it serves. Companies that listen effectively stay informed, up to date and out of trouble, those that do not so lose millions of dollars each year. Effective listening is vital to the process of building trust not only between organizations but also between individuals. Effective listening will give you a competitive edge, enhancing your performance, and thus, the influence you have within your company (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
Recognizing Different Types of Listening
Understanding the nature of listening is the first step toward improving your listening skills. People listen in a variety of ways although how they listen is often an unconscious choice. An employee who values teamwork and relationships will naturally be inclined to look for ways to bond with a speaker. An action-oriented listener might miss important information related to tasks that need to be completed (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
In either case, relying on a single approach to listening limits your effectiveness. A people-oriented listener might miss important information about an upcoming deadline, whereas an action-oriented listener might miss an important clue that there are personal problems brewing between two team members (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
The primary goal of content listening is to understand and retain the speaker's message. When you are listening for content, the emphasis is on information and understanding. Ask questions to clarify the material and probe for details. Since you are not evaluating at this point it does not matter whether you agree or disagree, approve or disapprove - only that you understand. Just focus on the information (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
The goal of critical listening is to understand and evaluate the meaning of the speaker's message on several levels: the logic of the argument, the strength of the evidence, the validity of the conclusions, the implication of the message for you and your organization, the speaker's intentions and motives, and the omission of any important or relevant points. Be on the lookout for bias that might color the way the information is presented and be careful to separate opinions from facts (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
The goal of empathic listening is to understand the speaker's feelings, needs and wants so that you can appreciate his or her point of view, regardless of whether you share that perspective. By listening in an empathic way, you help the individual vent the emotions that prevent a calm, clear-headed approach to the subject. Sometimes the only thing an upset colleague is looking for is somebody to listen. To avoid the temptation to jump in with advice unless the person asks for it, do not judge the speaker's feelings and do not try to tell people they should not feel this or that emotion. Instead, let the speaker know that you appreciate his or her feelings and understand the situation. Once you establish that connection you can then help the speaker move on to search for a solution (Bovee, Thill; pg. 49).
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