| |
| |
|
Leadership Information |
|
|
|
Effective Listening Equals Effective Leadership: Learn How!
No matter what role you play in your company, becoming a more effective listener will help you get ahead in your position. It means fewer errors, improved accuracy, and enhanced working relationships. And, listening to your customers and referral sources will definitely help you in your marketing efforts. You will solicit better information from other people whether interviewing job candidates, solving work problems, or working to make a sale. Contrary to what many people think, being an effective listener is not a passive activity. It takes concentration, effort, and active attention. Because our brains work much faster than our ability to speak, we often jump way ahead of the speaker in our minds and miss the opportunity to fully understand a person's feelings, position, and perspective. Environmental distractions or personal biases can also interfere with our ability to understand what a person is saying. When listening, you are giving a gift of your time and attention to the other person. Work to respond both verbally and non-verbally to the person who is speaking. This lets the speaker know that you are listening and that you understand what he or she is trying to communicate. Here are some ideas to help you hone your listening skills: 1. Don't Talk. This may seem self-evident. However, many people listen with impatience. They are just waiting for their chance to speak, or worse yet they interrupt. Be courteous and give your listener your full attention. Avoid offering solutions if the speaker is expressing a problem. Just listen. 2. Listen Fully. A good listener looks interested in what the speaker is saying. Your body language speaks volumes. Maintain eye contact, sit still, lean slightly toward the speaker, and nod your head (but not too vigorously or you'll look like a chicken!). 3. Ask Clarifying Questions. Wait for the speaker to pause, and ask clarifying questions. It's a good idea to paraphrase what the speaker has said and to ask questions such as, "Did you mean?" or "If I understand correctly, you said?" 4. Provide Feedback. Remain engaged in what the speaker is saying and show this verbally. He or she will appreciate the occasional "I see..." or "Really?" or "I know!" 5. Keep Your Mind Open. The point of listening is to gain new information. Don't just search for a point that supports your own opinions. Be willing to gain new insights and learn about someone else's ideas. 6. Be on the Same Level. Make sure you are at eye level with the other person. Avoid having an employee or customer stand in front of your desk. Have comfortable chairs available so that a desk is not a barrier between you. 7. Respect Your Speaker. If the conversation involves criticism from either party or contains personal information, go to a private room for the discussion. Make sure other people can't listen to your discussion. This will help the speaker feel more at ease and demonstrate your respect for what he or she has to say. 8. Pay Attention to Cues. What isn't being said is often as important than what is being said. Body language speaks volumes. Watch the speaker's facial expressions, posture, eyes, gestures, and other nonverbal cues. 9. Avoid Invalidating Language. While you may not agree with what the speaker is saying, avoid defensive statements or phrases that argue with his or her points. Later, you can take time to review what was said and formulate a response. As an active and effective listener, your role is to allow the person the time and space to fully express his or her feelings. 10. Express Appreciation. Thank the listener for sharing his or her thoughts and feelings. It takes courage to speak up. True sharing builds trust and encourages further dialogue. It takes time and energy to become a better listener. Be patient. As you begin to improve your listening skills, you may be surprised to find people will seek you out to share their thoughts and feelings. You will also find yourself involved in fewer conflicts and be perceived as a more positive and trustworthy person. Attentive listening is a rare skill that people respect and welcome. ACTION ITEM: This week, concentrate on your listening skills. Do you finish sentences for others? Do you interrupt? Do you sneak looks at your watch? Pay attention to your listening habits and begin to bring conscious attention to improving these skills. Work to show others that you hear and understand them. Wendy Maynard, your friendly marketing maven, is the owner of Kinesis. Kinesis specializes in marketing, graphic and website design, and business writing. Visit http://www.kinesisinc.com/resources/articles.html for more articles and free marketing wisdom. Want to harness the power of kinetic marketing? Sign up for Kinesis Quickies, a free bi-monthly marketing e-newsletter: http://www.news.kinesisinc.com Visit Wendy's marketing blog, "Kinetic Ideas" at: http://www.wendy.kinesisinc.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Asking for Help For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. It can require a certain amount of vulnerability. Effective Listening Equals Effective Leadership: Learn How! No matter what role you play in your company, becoming a more effective listener will help you get ahead in your position. It means fewer errors, improved accuracy, and enhanced working relationships. People or Objects? - - You Decide "How you think determines how you act. How you act, in turn, determines how others react to you. Real Charisma, Clinton Style What exactly is Charisma? Most would agree that it is a magical, illusive, personal quality, divinely endowed on some people more than others. One thing is for certain, it is more easily identified than defined. 3 Es For Leaders - Engage, Empower, Encourage! "Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration ofvirtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave.. Five Surprisingly Hip Politicial Ideas From Plato Don't you love politics?Me, neither. But I do like thinking about politics. The Seven Secrets to New Age Leadership Did you ever notice that In our American culture, we have the tendency to look outside of ourselves for leadership? That's a trap. Isn't it time we looked inside ourselves to see how we can be the leader we want and need to be in the 21st century? I certainly think so. Leadership Webster's defines leadership as : "1. the office of position of a leader, 2. A Winning Choice for Leadership! "The only way to enjoy anything in this life, is to earn it first."-Ginger RodgersOne bad apple can spoil the bunch! As a leader, we cannot allow "bad apples" to interrupt our efforts toward achieving our goals. Getting Things Done, Without the Sweat! How do you get your people on your side? And once their on your side, how can you get them to do anything you want? It's a skill that we all want. Nothing's better than leaving the hard work for someone else! But how?Do You Have It In You?Getting what you want and deserving it are two totally different things! Do you think it's reasonable to order a task onto your subordinate? Do you think it's acceptable to call up a friend only when you want something? Or how about being nice to someone just to butter them up but ignore them otherwise?No way! No fair!What would you think if someone treated you like that? Well this happens all the time. Leadership: Wisdom of the Ages If you gather 100 experienced leaders together to share with you their most important secrets for success, you probably wouldn't hear a lot of academic theory or jargon. Instead, this is a good idea of what you'd hear:1) Put ethics first. The Four Laws Of Leadership (Part One) Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. After all, isn't it more effective to have people want to go from point A to point B instead of to be ordered to go from A to B?The ability to instill "want to" in others, to motivate them, marks the difference between average leaders and great leaders. The Goals of Leadership Coaching and Partnerships Webster's Dictionary describes a "partner" as an ally or an association built around common interests and goals.A partnership denotes a joint venture, a relationship built on equal status (rather than inequality). The Metamorphosis of the Successful Executive . . . Overcoming Professional Stagnation You're a bright, successful business executive making good money and managing a capable staff of accomplished professionals. You are successful beyond your wildest business school dreams. Leadership and Followership in a Team Setting Many solopreneurs work in a team environment either with their client's staff, or with subcontractors. Having spent over 20 years in a teaming environment before becoming a solopreneur 13 years ago, I know that during the course of any highly functioning team effort, the leadership and followership roles flow back and forth between the members. Leadership Training Seminar - What Makes A Great Leader? At one point or another, we have all been either a leader or a follower. While both roles are equally important, a leader plays an instrumental role in providing direction for his/her followers. The Six Essential Leadership Attributes Leadership is the foundation for all organizations, whether corporate, nonprofit or government. Leadership is a high calling and responsibility, upon which all else the organization is or does rests. C4 Leadership: Taking Your Leadership (and your Life) from Good...To Explosive! Chances are if you're interested in this post, you're looking for a few tips to take your leadership and/or your life, up a notch or two. Read on for a few things that have really helped me make my leadership more explosive after first defining what C4 is. Chris Top 7 Favorite Leadership Books 1. The West Point Way of Leadership. Five Things Smart Leaders Do to Lower The Barriers To Change Smart leaders understand that they don't "make" a change happen. They recognize that the people in their organization do the work, change behaviors, and, ultimately, make the change happen.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |
