“I know you can hear me, but are you listening?” We’ve been hearing those words since we were children. Simon & Garfunkel sang about "People hearing without listening." Effective listening is a skill that everyone can improve. Listening skills and communication strategies are hot conference topics. Every manager wants their employees to hone their listening skills. Every employee wants to be heard. Do you remember being taught better listening strategies? I hope you were, dare I say it, listening.
What do you have to gain by focusing on your listening skills? A few benefits of effective listening are:
Better understanding
Improved customer relations
Increased donations/grants = Greater revenue
Fewer mistakes and rework
Less employee turnover
Better personal relationships
Focusing and listening go hand in hand. A good listener is aware that they are listening, and contrary to popular belief, listening doesn’t come naturally. Below are a few tips to become a better listener and to help you get more out of your conference experience:
Concentrate on Listening – focus on paying attention, don’t fidget, doodle, read email, or text message while someone is talking. Multi-tasking is not a part of effective listening! Take notes to remember important information.
Minimize distractions – limit background noise and interruptions. In a conference room setting, close doors to reduce outside noise and turn off cell phones.
Eye Contact & Acknowledgement– Make eye contact with the speaker & use verbal and non-verbal communication to show them that you are focusing on what they are saying.
Emotions - if you don’t agree with what the speaker is saying, you have to be able to control your emotions so that the speaker can finish discussing their topic. If you want to voice your opinion on the matter do it in a polite and tactful way.
Respect – Don’t interrupt when someone is speaking. Allow the speaker to finish talking and then comment.
Clarification – Ask questions - at the appropriate time - if you need to clarify a point they are making.
No matter what sector you represent, listening skills are important. From sales to volunteering, effective listening will make you a better manager, a better employee, and even a better friend. You have nothing to lose by improving your listening skills.
