The Art of Listening

It takes great discipline to keep your mouth shut – when dieting and when listening.

To stay lean and mean as an effective communicator, you need to gobble up information and master the art of active listening. After all, how can you fill a meaningful soundbite, create a shareable tweet or write an article for employees if you haven’t gotten inside the head of your client or employer?

Do you approach a PR meeting feeling anxious to have your voice heard and your deadlines met by sharing your bullet list of things you need?

OR …

Do you arrive with carefully prepared questions that allow you to probe the mind and extract the thoughts of the leaders around you?

Having the distraction-free acuity and attentiveness to listen and take accurate notes is essential to communication success. Getting others to talk out loud triggers brainstorming to spark new ideas and potential solutions. It gives us new thoughts to freshen the message, and may even lead to a revised strategy.

A good listener may direct the conversation, applying time management skills, being mindful of the clock, and understanding context. Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

We have two ears, two eyes and one mouth. Perhaps there’s a reason for this. Chances are that other people won’t recognize you for “being a great listener.” You might, however, earn a reputation as a person who gets the job done right the first time around. It’s both time- and cost-efficient. Clients appreciate that.

copyright 2017 Marcia Simon Enterprises, LLC