Become a better LISTENER –

A good listener is not only popular but can learn a lot.

        Don’t talk so much.  Make an effort to concentrate on what other people want to say.         Good listeners are popular people.

        You cannot listen if you are doing all the talking – and if you are not listening you are not learning.

        Listening to your people and clients is the most important task for good team leaders.

        Many of the troubles in the world today are caused because people are not prepared to listen to others.

A Handful of tips to improve your  listening skills

* Set the Scene

        If possible, choose a quiet area away from others.             

        Turn off your cell phone.

        Remove distractions.

        Your first task is to establish a rapport with the person. Allow time for this. Encourage them to chat.

        Start the conversation with easy open-ended questions.    “Have you had a good year?”

        “How is your family?”

        “What did you think of our last meeting?”

* Give your undivided attention

        Empathise with the speaker. Concentrate and listen carefully to what they have to say.

        A good listener is a silent flatterer.

* Be patient

        Do not interrupt, even if you disagree with what is being said.

        Let the speaker finish.

        Keep calm and avoid arguments.

* Review and summarise

        Try to summarise what you have heard. “What issues were not clear? What did you not fully understand? What other things should have been mentioned?”

* Ask questions

        Ask questions that require definite answers so you learn what the speaker really thinks.

       After a question remain quiet. Give the person a chance to think.

        Never answer your own question.

        Start improving your questioning and listening skills from today. You will be well rewarded.

        From listening comes wisdom, from speaking repentance.

-Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“A wise person talks little, an ignorant one talks much.”

Source: For amplification of this topic see “Persuasive Ways. ‘Tricks of the trade’ to get your ideas across”. First published by  Moss Associates Ltd., New Zealand and in Chinese by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House, the Singapore Institute of Management, Kogan Page Ltd, U.K and in Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado.  Also published as the “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia and as an e-book and sold by Amazon.com.

For those in need see our FREE book “NO JOB! – WHAT NOW?” available from our website mossassociates.co.nz.