7 October 2009
In Business, How Important is it to Listen?
Posted by Moss under: Business; Relationships .
What is more important: listening or speaking?
It seems people do a lot more talking than listening, so maybe it’s talking that gets the vote. From my perspective, I think listening is a more important contributor to success, especially in a partnership. When conflicts of interest arise, or feelings are involved, listening becomes crucial.
I don’t mean the kind of listening where one partner is temporarily quiet just waiting for the other person to stop talking. Good listening involves paying concentrated attention to what is being said. It requires some active behavior on the listener’s part to let the other person know listening is present.
There are 3 good practices you can use to increase the quality of your listening:
1. Seek to understand. Stay engaged or let your partner see that you are trying to understand his point of view: “Let me make sure I understand what you are saying. What I’m hearing you say is… am I right? Tell me more!”
2. Validate what you hear. People want to be valued, respected, or appreciated. Good listeners validate what they hear: “What you say makes sense from your point of view. I can see where you’re coming from.”
3. Empathize. Appreciate your partner’s feelings, especially if he is upset. Don’t take it personally if your partner is angry or upset. Show some compassion instead of defensiveness: “I hear how upset you are about what happened at the meeting. You must have felt really hurt or disregarded.”
Bottom Line
- Be a powerful listener.
- Seek to understand first before being understood.
- Express your point of view.
- Problem solve
