Listening is disregarded from early age. At school, we learn to speak, to convince and influence, to debate though I don’t recall much lecture on Listening; except maybe related to music. And even then, the main point was to reproduce what was being played, not much to discover the richness the piece conveyed. As Steven R. Covey wrote in the 7 habits of highly effective people: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
Listening and Leadership
When learning about leadership and all the skills related to it, it’s rare to find listening among them. Communication makes the lot; though it’s more about how to make sure we convey our message rather than it is about how we accept being influence by others’ ideas.
When executed properly though, it improves problem solving, relationship between people; it increases interaction’s satisfaction, develops trust, respect and teamwork, and contribute in making others good listeners as well. Consequently, we can then grow our capacity to influence others, which is what we want to achieve when leading people.
What is Listening?
As you probably already know, listening is the “receiving” part of communication. It is about making sense from sounds in an active process. It is a process that includes receiving information, understanding, evaluating the message, sensing the emotions connected to the information and providing feedback to the sender to ensure comprehension.
How to improve Listening?
The following lines will present a 4-steps process you can use to practice effective listening: Would you oblige to discover and try them out?
1. Hear the message: Recognise and concentrate on the main theme of the discussion and specific ideas and facts. Adopt the speaker’s point of view and develop the ability to listen objectively and attentively without interrupting.
2. Interpret the message: Take notice of the sender’s words’ meaning and perceive the non-verbal cues. Whenever needed, ask for clarification or repetition if you are not sure of the speaker’s message.
3. Evaluate the message: Listen with empathy to the emotional charge of the message and understanding and suspend judgement
4. Respond to the message: Provide appropriate response and feedback. Building up on mentioned idea instead of only make your receiver’s voice heard.
Listening in action
Effective listeners hear and select information from the speakers and ensure understanding by determining how the speaker feels and the message and respond to the whole communication.
We do believe that communication is key to leadership; and listening is a core component in leading people and organisations. At Leadership in Business World, we will support you in developing and add your listening skills into your professional skill set. Apply NOW and listen well at your next meeting…