Good Listening at Work: Easy as One, Two, Three!

There is always room for improvement when it comes to listening. How often do you converse with someone only to have difficulty recalling what the person said? Do you ever share your thoughts with someone, but feel as though they’re not really “getting” where you’re coming from? Such communication problems can be the result of poor listening.

Good listening skills, while critical in every aspect of life, are of utmost importance in the workplace. According to Lu (2005), “Listening is critical for success in today’s fast-changing, competitive, global organizations” (p. 45). In my own career, I’ve been involved in an ongoing process of bettering my listening skills. Good listening skills are critical to my professional reputation and help me to be seen as competent and dedicated to my job.

In order to constantly improve my listening skills, I keep in mind these three steps for becoming someone who truly listens, rather than someone who just hears.

1. Be "all ears." Display genuine interest in the sender’s message and resist distractions.

In a work setting, it helps to control the environment and shut out distractions if possible: close your office door, take the call off speakerphone or put aside whatever you may have been working on just before the communication began.

2. Make note of the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal behavior and any emotions they may be expressing in relation to the message.

These cues provide great insight as to the overall meaning of the message. Remember to reciprocate the sender’s cues with your own smiles, nods and hand gestures where appropriate.

3. Remember the saying, “There's no such thing as a stupid question.”

No not be afraid to ask questions in order to gather the greatest amount of information from the sender. Ask away! This will show the speaker you really care about what he or she is saying.

Listening is obviously quite complex, but these three easy steps will give you an advantage the next time you converse with a colleague. Becoming a better listener will pay off professionally, as well as personally and academically. If you are curious as to where your listening skills currently stand, you can always assess yourself by using Lu's Listening Style Inventory. Good luck on your journey to better listening!

Reference

Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50.