Perspectives
Listening:
The Foundation for All Communication
Part 1 of 5
by George M. Hendley
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"Give every man thine ear, but
few thy voice."
Shakespeare
"Wisdom is the reward you get for
a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." Doug
Larson
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As a trainer, consultant,
manager of training or HR specialist you are expected to be a pro at
communicating. And you probably
realize there is always more to learn (or at least revisit) to stay fresh and
current. If you are really interested in improving your communication skills,
read carefully. Here's the answer:
LISTENING.
Here are the questions.
What is the foundation of ALL communication?
What communication skill were you using long before you thought about
reading, writing or speaking? Out
of the four basic communication skills which one do you use the most? How did
you do? That wasn't too hard, was it? We
should be off to a great start together.
Here are a couple of
questions that require you to think. How
much time did you spend learning to read, write and speak clearly during your
years of formal education? How much
time did you invest in listening skills?
Your first answer was probably similar to mine - lots.
From first grade through high school and into college we are constantly
learning and reviewing the skills of reading, writing and speaking.
But how much were you taught about listening? Your second answer was also probably like mine.
I never had a specific course or any detailed instruction in listening
skills during all of my formal education. Does
that mean listening isn't important? Does it prove that we don't need to be
taught how to listen? The answers
are obvious.
Why
is Listening Important?
Here are 10 reasons:
1) To receive
information;
2) To be courteous;
3) To solve problems;
4) To make money;
5) To prevent waste;
6) To save time;
7) To be more efficient
and effective;
8) To prevent accidents;
9) To build rapport;
10) To enhance
relationships.
How many can you add to
this list? There are easily
25-30 additional reasons that you could add. Are you starting to see why
listening is vital to your personal and professional life?
Research has shown we spend 70-85% of our business day communicating in one form or another. Out of that time we usually spend 45% listening, 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. Almost everyone believes they are good listeners. Unfortunately most of us listen at only 25% of our potential. Can this be improved? You bet it can!
One
of the biggest challenges with listening is the illusion that it is being
accomplished.
The
Challenges with Listening
Have you ever had someone
act as if they are listening to you? They
may even say they are listening, but you're never quite sure until they show by
their response that they understood what you said.
Here are just a few of the challenges we face in the listening process:
1)
Feeling time pressures;
2)
Dealing with outside distractions;
3)
Having a tendency to daydream;
4)
Controlling emotional hot buttons;
5)
Mental or physical fatigue;
6)
Listening to a boring, monotone speaker;
7)
Having problems with the speaker’s language or speech habits.
Here are two more
specific to telephone communications:
A)
Not being able to see the speaker;
B)
Having a poor connection over the phone lines or through the air waves if
it is a cellular call.
These and other hurdles
can cause us to miss the message in the communication process and therefore lead
to misunderstandings. That’s what
we want to avoid.
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