November 26, 2007 Listening Skills Tim Keogh Assistant Professor School of Business Administration

Initial purpose: to determine if listening skills are being taught in business schools

Initial purpose: to determine if listening skills are being taught in business schools Reason 1: Business schools are increasingly responding to the needs of employers and students alike who are demanding a greater emphasis on skill acquisition and mastery in addition to theory.

Initial purpose: to determine if listening skills are being taught in business schools Reason 2: The “Theory and Practice” section of the Wall Street Journal recently described how MBA Programs are teaching “soft skills” (February 12, 2007) like teamwork, leadership, and communicating.

Initial purpose: to determine if listening skills are being taught in business schools What about Listening?

Initial purpose: to determine if listening skills are being taught in business schools What we found: Of the top fifty business schools listed by US News and World Report, only six mention listening as part of their courses in communication or leadership, and only the University of Notre Dame has a stand alone listening course (MBCM Listening and Responding).

Why is it hard to teach listening?

Remembering Being able to recall the message being sent Interpreting Not reading anything into the message the sender is communicating Effective listening Responding Replying to the sender, letting him or her know you are paying attention Hearing Paying careful attention to what is being said Understanding Comprehending the messages being sent Evaluating not immediately passing judgment on the message being sent

ê Some remaining questions: Where do you get your best feedback? Why don’t you listen to it?

Tangible and Intangible Barriers SpeakerListene r Encode Message Decode Barriers  Physical  Personal Barriers  Physical  Personal

The Fundamental Elements of a Message ê Words Used _____% ê Tone of Voice _____% ê Non-Verbals _____%

The Fundamental Elements of a Message ê Words Used __7___% ê Tone of Voice __38__% ê Non-Verbals __55__%

The Four Basic Style Preferences

ê Platonic Ideals ê The Humours Theory ê Jungian Archetypes ê Star Trek ê The Wizard of Oz

How to get the Practical type to listen to you: –Get to the point –Have a bottom line –Emphasize action –Give concrete examples

How to get the Social type to listen to you: –Start with social chit chat –Be personable –Make eye contact –Consider others

How to get the Analytical type to listen to you: –Be organized –Have a plan –Be specific –Provide data

How to get the Conceptual type to listen to you: – Use patience – Allow ample time – Emphasize cooperation – Be polite

Style Blind Spots The bigger the blind spot: the more one tends to overuse a single style, the less one tends to “flex” to the styles of others.