Active listening is a skill.
I know sales guys that sell millions of dollars of services work simply by listening to what a client is saying. Crazy, I know.
The skilled professional listens actively and adjusts his / her dialogue based on what he / she is hearing.
The unskilled person sticks to the script and already has his / her dialogue planned throughout an entire conversation.
Even more dangerous is the person that takes what someone is saying and puts his / her spin on it so that the interpretation is completely different than what the client intended.
I've sat in meetings with executives where the lead executive reels off his top 3 priorities. I write them down because I write everything down.
Then I remember debriefing after those meetings with other people who were in the same room and they've remixed the 3 priorities -- turning them into 5 or 6!
And people wonder why simple things such as values and vision never make it to the people doing the work!
Here's my advice:
Being an active listener means that you are putting the other person's needs ahead of your own. A good conversation means that you can feel the other person's viewpoint and he or she can feel your viewpoint.
If you're not an active listener, you are a talking head. And all talking heads end up becoming is a waste of time.
I know sales guys that sell millions of dollars of services work simply by listening to what a client is saying. Crazy, I know.
The skilled professional listens actively and adjusts his / her dialogue based on what he / she is hearing.
The unskilled person sticks to the script and already has his / her dialogue planned throughout an entire conversation.
Even more dangerous is the person that takes what someone is saying and puts his / her spin on it so that the interpretation is completely different than what the client intended.
I've sat in meetings with executives where the lead executive reels off his top 3 priorities. I write them down because I write everything down.
Then I remember debriefing after those meetings with other people who were in the same room and they've remixed the 3 priorities -- turning them into 5 or 6!
And people wonder why simple things such as values and vision never make it to the people doing the work!
Here's my advice:
Being an active listener means that you are putting the other person's needs ahead of your own. A good conversation means that you can feel the other person's viewpoint and he or she can feel your viewpoint.
If you're not an active listener, you are a talking head. And all talking heads end up becoming is a waste of time.
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