Enhance Your Listening Skills
Enhance Your Listening Skills
- If you are going to be effective in selling, serving customers or managing others, you will need to be able to listen effectively to what others are telling you. Listening is a key ingredient in proper communication.
- Errors and mistakes often arise out of poor listening and jumping to conclusions as a result.
- Listening carefully to others shows that you are interested in what they have to say and that you respect their input.
- Listening is a skill that all business people need to master. Understanding what someone else is really saying can often minimize future problems and sometimes uncover opportunities.
Here are some simple tips for improving your listening skills:
- Try hard not to think about your response until the other person is done speaking. Trying to form your response while the other person is still talking means you probably won't hear everything you need to hear.
- Don't talk prematurely or interrupt. Allow the other person to complete their thoughts before jumping in. Interrupting a train of thought can often get the conversation off on a tangent and make it difficult to get back to what the other person wanted to say.
- Concentrate carefully on what the other person is saying. Look at the other person when they are speaking. Don't thumb through papers or appear distracted. Carefully listen to every word.
- Listen without bias. Before forming an opinion, let the other person explain their position. If you allow past experience or your opinion about the other person to bias your ability to listen effectively, what they are saying and what you interpret them to be saying could be entirely different.
- Never assume you know what the other person meant if the wording is unclear. If someone says that they need something "as soon as possible" does that mean now, tomorrow, next week or some other time? If you assume that it means one thing and the person meant another, you have a problem. Ask what they specifically mean when they make a comment that is unclear.
- Listen actively by nodding your head to acknowledge, making good eye contact, saying things such as, "I understand" or "that's interesting". This tells the other person you are listening attentively. Be careful not to overdo it in terms of nodding or making acknowledging remarks, however.
- Clarify by repeating in your own words when necessary what you understood the other person to say.
Practice your listening skills every day. You will be amazed at how much more effective your communication will turn out to be, and hence your sales success, when you assume the responsibility of becoming an excellent listener. One of the biggest obstacles in business is ineffective listening. Don't let it negatively impact your performance and sales results.
Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ Lombardo
Enhance Your Listening Skills - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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Arguably, the most important skill in business is listening. Some of us are better listeners than others, but we all must work on our listening skills if we are going to maximize our success in the business world.
- If you are going to be effective in selling, serving customers or managing others, you will need to be able to listen effectively to what others are telling you. Listening is a key ingredient in proper communication.
- Errors and mistakes often arise out of poor listening and jumping to conclusions as a result.
- Listening carefully to others shows that you are interested in what they have to say and that you respect their input.
- Listening is a skill that all business people need to master. Understanding what someone else is really saying can often minimize future problems and sometimes uncover opportunities.
Here are some simple tips for improving your listening skills:
- Try hard not to think about your response until the other person is done speaking. Trying to form your response while the other person is still talking means you probably won't hear everything you need to hear.
- Don't talk prematurely or interrupt. Allow the other person to complete their thoughts before jumping in. Interrupting a train of thought can often get the conversation off on a tangent and make it difficult to get back to what the other person wanted to say.
- Concentrate carefully on what the other person is saying. Look at the other person when they are speaking. Don't thumb through papers or appear distracted. Carefully listen to every word.
- Listen without bias. Before forming an opinion, let the other person explain their position. If you allow past experience or your opinion about the other person to bias your ability to listen effectively, what they are saying and what you interpret them to be saying could be entirely different.
- Never assume you know what the other person meant if the wording is unclear. If someone says that they need something "as soon as possible" does that mean now, tomorrow, next week or some other time? If you assume that it means one thing and the person meant another, you have a problem. Ask what they specifically mean when they make a comment that is unclear.
- Listen actively by nodding your head to acknowledge, making good eye contact, saying things such as, "I understand" or "that's interesting". This tells the other person you are listening attentively. Be careful not to overdo it in terms of nodding or making acknowledging remarks, however.
- Clarify by repeating in your own words when necessary what you understood the other person to say.
Practice your listening skills every day. You will be amazed at how much more effective your communication will turn out to be, and hence your sales success, when you assume the responsibility of becoming an excellent listener. One of the biggest obstacles in business is ineffective listening. Don't let it negatively impact your performance and sales results.
Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ Lombardo
Enhance Your Listening Skills - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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