Uh, can you say that again?
Your ability to listen matters - not hear - listen! Now I don't mean your ability to check your email, text and "tweet" at the same time. There are some who might consider that multi-tasking. Okay stop ... put that thing down and listen.
"Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking."
Bernard M. Baruch
The story of a listener
Years ago I had the joy of working with a remarkable executive. He had risen through the ranks of the corporation and was a member of the top executive team. Needless to say he was brilliant and an inspired leader. He accomplished all this in spite of what was considered a major obstacle at the time because he had a speech disability. He attained his rank and status because of his ability to listen. When he was with you here was "there" 100% and made you feel that he turned off the world for you. Thoughts, reactions, suggestions and management came in the form of exceptionally clear written notes and letters. Each one eloquently proved that he did listen and work to understand - you. In today's corporate environment leaders and managers seem to be judged by the ability to speak and present his or her thinking. This renown executive and leader was more driven by the desire to understand what the people around him thought
Do the people around you consider you an active, involved listener? According to the University of Missouri most people spend 70 to 80 percent of our waking hours in some form of communication. That communication breaks down to about 9 percent writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking, and 45 percent listening. The problem is studies also show that most of us are not very good at listening.
Fast talk about poor listening
Stand by for a compliment - you can think faster than people speak. The average person speaks at a rate of about 125 words-per-minute. We have the brainpower to comprehend 400-words-per minute. No one hits that rate including Starbucks coffee addicts and even a hyper first grader. Still be the biggest reasons we're such poor listeners are:
Caring
Concentration
I'm a wanderer, just a wanderer
If you don't care about the message or the messenger you don't listen. Since there's such a big gap between how fast people speak and how fast we can listen, our brains tend to wander. On the average we only use about 25% of our mental capacity listening so we have 75% of our brainpower to do something else. So we daydream. We have to work hard to listen well.
Listening is work
I had a professor in Journalism School who listed the top three attributes required for career advancement. Here's his list:
- Reading
- Writing
No verbal, computer, management, marketing or organizational skills made it to the list at all. His point was, if you can't master these three then you have no chance with any of those other skills. You know it makes a lot of sense. Your ability to listen allows you to:
- Understand what you are supposed to do and people's expectations
- Answer questions and ask better ones
- Communicate understanding
- Build rapport, trust, credibility and friendships
- Resolve problems and devise solutions
Here's a Freebie!
Gee, sounds like leadership and management abilities to me. A wise man once said, "It's better to be interested than interesting." So just how good are you? Do you have the confidence to put your abilities to the test? The graphic at the top of this article is a Listening Evaluation Worksheet we developed for a client over 10 years ago. It has spread through about a dozen organizations and it's free for you. Just click on the illustration to download it. No signing up, marketing or obligations. If it helps - please think kindly of your friends here at Think!
Okay, you may return to checking your email, texting and "tweeting."
If you likes this article you might also enjoy:
Do You Know the Rules Of Engagement - How To Make People Like You!
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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.
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