Career Marketing

Listening

People spend about 45% of their communication time listening, but if they were to review a tape of their conversation later, they would be amazed at how much they'd missed, even if they took notes. The average speaking rate is 125 words per minute (wpm) and the average processing rate, 400-500 wpm. Listening involves hearing, attention, comprehension and memory. There are many barriers to effective listening, such as wanting to rebut before we forget, or being easily distracted. Others are suggested by the do's and don'ts listed below.

Listen actively

Don't just take in the words of the speaker, but try to grasp the facts and feeling behind them. Respond to the speaker by stating your impression of what they've said. Paraphrasing does not imply agreement, just acceptance that the other has the right to that feeling or statement. Don't suggest solutions. Those who are active listeners show that they believe their employees have experience, ideas, problems and solutions that are worth attention. Active listening keeps others off the defensive, gets problems out into the open, calms down angry people, reduces mistakes, and establishes strong relationships.

Do's

give the other party a chance to talk
look and smile at the speaker
be open to new suggestions
capitalise on thought being faster than speech
anticipate, make mental summaries and notes of ideas to pursue later
try and put other things on your mind out of your mind
find areas of interest
judge content, not delivery
listen for ideas, rather than facts
take notes (or not) using a system to suit the speaker
work at listening (remember body language)
exercise your mind

Don'ts

talk or interrupt too often, particularly when someone is making a point
impart the feeling that your time is being wasted, daydream or appear disinterested
constantly fidget with a pencil or paper, or frequently sneak looks at your watch while listening
get the speaker off the subject
stifle suggestions immediately
put the other person on the defensive when you ask a question
ask questions that indicate that you have not been listening
try to out-stare the speaker
overdo your show of attention by nodding too much or saying yes to everything
insert humorous remarks when the other person is being serious
jump to conclusions before all the evidence has been presented
discount statements because you consider the speaker unimportant
discard information you don't want to hear
allow yourself to be easily distracted by your environment