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View All Press Releases| Mulady Solutions | 03 Dec 2008 |
Newsletter - Hear me out
How many times have you had to repeat yourself on the telephone, in a shop, restaurant or bar?
Is it robotic service or is it an inability to listen to what people are saying?
Take this example I recently had in a coffee shop which has subsequently closed down!
‘Can I have a black coffee please?’
‘A black coffee?’
‘Yes please’
‘Did you want milk?’
‘No just a black coffee and can I have a receipt please?’
‘A receipt?’
‘Yes please’
‘You need a receipt?’
‘Yes please’
I did not realise that ordering a black coffee and asking for a receipt could be such a complicated task.
Unless you have a medical condition, we can all hear, it is whether we choose to listen or not which makes the difference. As a trainer, I cannot teach people to listen, but what I can do is highlight the importance of listening rather than just taking turns to speak.
There are four levels of listening….
Inactive – this is when we switch off completely, we might be bored or distracted but we will not have taken in a word
Selective – this is when we pick out the bits we think are of interest to us. This can be dangerous as we will not have listened to the whole story and often get the wrong end of the stick
Active – this is when we really take in what the person is saying to us and respond accordingly and appropriately
Empathically – this is when we listen from the other person’s point of view without judging. We completely absorb what is being said and do not interrupt until they have definitely finished.
Listening is not easy and something we are not really taught at school but in order to really understand our clients and people’s needs it is something that with some practice and self awareness can reap rewards.
Remember, we have one mouth and two ears and if we use them in that order we become great communicators.
If you feel you would benefit from help in the areas of training and development please contact me.
