Communicating for Results, 10th edition Chapter 4 Effective Listening Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Chapter 4 Objectives List two practical tips for improving your listening skills Identify and describe the signs of poor listening Distinguish among the main barriers to poor listening Discuss several guidelines for improving listening Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Effective Listening Why is listening so important? Because we do so much of it Because the business world has observed it firsthand Most working professionals recognize that listening is a skill that can and should be improved Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Effective Listening in the Workplace In the working world, most of us will need to listen to four groups of people: Customers Employees Supervisors Coworkers Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Customers By listening to customers, companies learn objective information about their products and services, learn how they relate to the competition, and learn what customers want The “customer” has radically changed along with changes in technology When customers perceive a salesperson or company is listening to them, they are more likely to trust, are more satisfied with, and more likely to do future business with that salesperson or company Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Employees Management can’t afford not to listen to employees Listening to employees is way of showing support If you are a supervisor, check your responses against list of nonacceptance responses Employees in organizations that have been downsized, merged, or reengineered are likely to be insecure and feel that their ideas don’t matter It is important to know that management will be open with them Listening is key to communicating and understanding employees Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Supervisors Many employees are unaware of how important it is to show that they are listening Can show they are sensing what the speaker is saying by maintaining good eye contact Can show interest by other nonverbal behaviors Too often when managers give instructions, they must guess whether employee is processing the information Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Supervisors Effective listening can help you improve your relationship with your boss: Listen to know your supervisors and their instructions Use that knowledge to guide your general interactions with your supervisors Develop the expertise your supervisors value Be wary of giving advice Build off your supervisors’ ideas Know how to praise appropriately Don’t criticize your supervisors Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Coworkers Businesses depend on strong interpersonal relationships among coworkers Relationship development depends on careful listening to coworkers You may find yourself part of a cross-functional or virtual team where “listening” is made more difficult and stressful Technology can improve communication Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Listening to Coworkers You may find the following global tips helpful: Use humor as a morale booster Learn to tolerate ambiguity Explain your ideas completely and explicitly when members have few shared experiences Show you are “listening” Concentrate more on information gathering and sharing rather than persuasion Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Signs of Poor Listening There are signs that can alert you to poor listening skills on the job: Breaking the chain of command Learning about events too late Always putting out fires Information must be repeated Tasks given to others Increase in written communication Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Increase in Poor Listening Habits Poor listening habits include: Calling the topic boring Criticizing the speaker’s delivery Orally or mentally interrupting to disagree Listening only for facts Takes detailed notes of everything Pretending to listen Tolerating or creating distractions Avoiding difficult material Reacting emotionally and tuning out speaker Daydreaming during longer presentations Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Barriers to Good Listening Physical barriers Most are not directly under our control Personal barriers Our physical well-being affects the listening process Psychological distractions are another type of personal barrier Attitudinal barriers against the speaker are still another barrier to listening Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Gender Barriers Gender differences can cause gender barriers to listening Gender Traditional masculine and feminine characteristics and behaviors influenced by culture and society Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Gender Barriers Women better at decoding nonverbal cues in messages Women view communication as a cooperative tool Women work harder to maintain discussions by initiating topics and by making supportive responses Men talk more often and longer Men view communication as a competitive tool Men tend to interrupt more often Men give minimal response cues during conversation Men are less likely to ask questions Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Gender Barriers Both men and women tend to use tag questions at the end of comments Women tend to be more tentative when the topic is masculine Men are more tentative when the topic is feminine Little difference appears when topics are gender neutral Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Gender Barriers Men are seen as more task oriented Women are seen as more supportive Perhaps business communicator of future will be more androgynous Androgynous people generally more successful Many gender differences will likely disappear as more women move up and women managers become commonplace The most effective listeners of both sexes will be those who understand communication principles and apply them in a considerate and flexible manner Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Semantic Barriers Semantic refers to meaning of words Semantic barriers can be frustrating because the problem stems from oddities of language, not from listeners’ lack of effort Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Technology Barriers Face-to-face listening has decreased since use of technology has expanded so rapidly We are still listening, just a different type of listening Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Communicating for Results, 10th edition Technology Barriers Does constant “listening” to technology affect our face-to-face listening? Constantly checking email and being exposed to “deluge of data” creates condition where we crave stimulation and feel lost without it This need for constant stimulation “can cause us to become more impatient, impulsive, forgetful, and even more narcissistic” Being surrounded by devices limits “our true engagement with other people” Using technology while listening to a lecture decreases what we remember of its content Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Sensing stage Listeners select or ignore stimuli from multitude of stimuli that bombard us We pay attention to things that are important to us or of interest to us, the other things we tune out Sensing abilities are affected by gender, age, cultural background, bias, emotion, and environmental distractions For communication to be effective, you need to be concerned with what is being communicated Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Interpreting stage Listeners assign meaning to messages that they have seen, heard, and felt in the sensing stage They attempt to decode what the speaker really means Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Interpreting stage Some of the most serious problems occur in the interpreting stage Many problems explained by attribution theory Sometimes problems occur because of semantic barriers Sometimes they occur because listeners assume they understand Sometimes problems result from jumping to conclusions or from fatigue or from overload Many problems arise because speakers and listeners believe in communication fallacy that 100% understanding is possible Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Evaluating stage Listeners “think about the message, make more extensive inferences, evaluate and judge speaker and message” Listeners decide whether speaker is qualified, information and evidence are accurate, and comments are relevant and worth the time Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Evaluating stage Listeners’ evaluations are often affected by their attitude toward speaker When speaking to others, remember they are evaluating your message based not only on words you use, but on quality of your speaking voice and your appearance, gestures, and visual aids Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Responding stage Listener response can take many forms Listeners will verbally indicate their understanding Will watch for nonverbal facial expressions Listeners sometimes fake attention Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Memory stage Listeners decide what parts, if any, of your message to retain and then attempt to store them in memory Most of us will only remember 10-25% of a presentation the next day, week, or month Much of this problem occurs because listeners fail to transfer what they have just heard from short-term memory into long-term memory Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Understanding the Stages of Listening Memory stage Short-term memory holds only about seven “bits” of information, plus or minus two Listeners are more likely to remember information that is organized, effectively delivered, repeated, related to their backgrounds and interests, and accompanied by professionally-looking visual aids Retention and comprehension are increased when visual and verbal communication channels are properly teamed Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Improving Your Listening Identify speaker's main points with a key word or phrase Take brief notes while you listen Constantly summarize speaker’s previous points by repeating key words in your mind Listen for facts, as well as, feelings behind facts Relate information to current policies and procedures Avoid prejudice Communicating for Results, 10th edition

Payoffs of Effective Listening Effective listeners discover values, needs, expectations, and goals of those with whom they work Better management-employee relations develop Better decisions are made in emergency situations We learn from others’ experience Communicating for Results, 10th edition