When was the last time you really listened? To your team members, to your customers, to your friends? With advances in technology and more ways to connect than ever before, we seem to do a lot of hearing each day. Unfortunately, hearing and listening are not always the same thing. As businesses struggle to come up with the next innovation, the answer may be more simple than we imagine.
Entrepreneurs and business leaders are busy. That is a fact of life. It also makes the act of listening more valuable because you are giving your time to someone else. Dedicating the time to really listen to and understand someone shows that you appreciate their opinions and you are dedicated to their needs. Keep reading to learn how to listen well and boost your business.
Get Rid of Distractions
More often than not, business leaders are trying to do many things at once. Meeting with an employee may overlap with your lunch break, another call, or completing a report. While all of those things seem important at the time, they can seriously damage your communication.
Effective communication, with employees, customers, or friends, relies on eye contact and attentiveness. You cannot listen well if you are not even paying attention to the person who is speaking.
If you do not devote your attention to the speaker, they are more likely to get frustrated or annoyed and take their conversation elsewhere. This could result in losing a valuable customer or a top-notch employee. On the other hand, giving your time to listen to someone else demonstrates that you value them. That could be the recipe for retaining top talent or encouraging repeat business.
Reserve Your Judgement
We all have knee-jerk reactions from time to time, especially if we are caught off guard or surprised. A conversation may prompt you to criticize someone else or stop them in their tracks and take over the narrative. However, giving into your impulse makes you the speaker and you are no longer listening.
Practice having conversations with an open mind, hearing the other person out completely before passing judgement. In some cases, you may need to sit with their words and think on them before returning with an opinion or answer. Whether you are working with a new customer who is unfamiliar with your processes or an employee who has an out-of-the-box idea, listening well can provide you with all of the information you need to make an informed decision.
Avoid Interrupting
One of the most rude behaviors in our society is interrupting, but many of us do it on a regular basis. Interrupting comes in a variety of shapes and forms, not all of them obvious on the surface. Sometimes we attempt to help or do the right thing, but we end up sending the wrong message.
You may interrupt a customer who is detailing their problem because you already have the solution. You may stop an employee when you think they are going down the wrong path. You may jump in while someone else is speaking to build on their idea. While all of these examples are attempts to be helpful, they are also rude and counterproductive.
Interrupting someone can come across as aggressive. When you are planning the next thing you are going to say, you are not listening well or absorbing all of the information. Imposing your ideas or solutions on others can also make it seem like you value your thoughts and opinions more than theirs.
Ask Questions
Once someone is done speaking and has fully shared what they needed to convey, you can demonstrate your interest and attention by asking questions. The goal is not to poke holes in someone’s problem or tear down their solution. Instead, ask questions to clarify the situation and ensure you have a full understanding of the situation. Questions should be relevant to the conversation and offer more opportunities to listen to the speaker.
