- Take notes if the information that is being conveyed to you is confusing or difficult. This will allow you the ability to verify specifics and confirm understanding.
- Remember that much of your listening happens with your eyes – be sure to watch your customers’ faces, gestures and body language for a significant (55%) portion of their message – add this message to the words for the complete message. Be sure to listen with both your eyes and ears.
- When listening, sit on the edge of your chair; this keeps you from getting too comfortable and from daydreaming. Also, lean forward slightly; this will allow you to be more attentive and help to maintain eye contact more easily.
- Show that you are tuned into the speaker by rephrasing key points, “So, what I understand is…” or by asking questions about specific points.
- Always try to “step into the shoes” of the speaker; by seeing the situation through the speaker’s eyes you will better understand their what is influencing his/her comments and improve your understanding.
- Allow uninterrupted time with your employees to deal with critical issues. Arrange a time during the day or week where critical issues (to the employee) can be discussed with you without distractions.
- Help your employees listen well to each other by catching them using bad habits; require them to identify them and change them. Catch employees who are good listeners in the act of listening well; this will provide an example of what good listening looks like in action.
- When you are first introduced, listen for the person’s name. Be sure to repeat the name when you greet them back, “Nice to meet you, Steven.” This will help you remember their name and show them that you listen for details.
- When listening, train yourself to continually ask, “What does this person want me to understand?”
- Don’t assume you know what a speaker will say – always allow the speaker to complete their comment.
- Remind yourself that your body language (how you look) can show impatience, annoyance, anger or other emotions toward the speaker or what is being said. Remind yourself that you will have an opportunity to become the speaker when this speaker is done. Be aware that as you notice body language, others will notice it about you too.
- To determine how well you communicate with your employees, ask yourself this question: “Did what I said produce the results that I wanted?” If not, review your style or the environment for communication barriers.
- Be sure to use open-ended questions when communicating with your employees. This forces them to respond with more than a “yes” or “no” and encourages greater understanding.
- Assess the communication style of the person with whom you are speaking. By understanding their style (See The Color Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman for a great easy to understand and use communication style review and test) you will be able to modify your style to improve your communications and improve understanding.
- Ask your employees how to improve your communication with them - what in your style is effective or ineffective.
- Don’t just talk an open-door policy; practice it by walking around and talking to employees. Be sure to allow your employees the opportunity to disagree and come up with new ideas.
- Actively involve your employees in the communication process by including them in weekly meetings. On a rotating basis, give each employee the opportunity to present a topic or lead a discussion. This will encourage them to see other employees’ points of view and improve their confidence in communicating.
- Ask your employees what additional information they need to see (daily/weekly/monthly) to assist them in their jobs or encourage them to work more effectively as a team.
- Just as you wouldn’t talk to one person while looking at another, you shouldn’t type nor do other tasks while talking to a customer or fellow employee on the phone. Multi-tasking during communication leads to poor comprehension.
- Listen for the “P’s and Q’s” – the periods and the question marks – these are the signs that the other party may be done speaking. Do not start speaking until there is a break in the conversation.
- Take notes when you are listening – it forces you to concentrate on this speaker and it insures that the critical information you are receiving will be received accurately.
- Paraphrase what you hear from a customer to insure you fully understand. This will eliminate distortions that may affect the quality of our service.
- At team meetings, practice giving feedback to all employees. All team members should be skilled at giving both positive and negative feedback to other team members. Create fictitious employees to act as the employee receiving the feedback. Have others on the team critique the effectiveness of the feedback and offer comments of praise or improvement.
- Create a fine for employees who offer feedback (criticism) while they are angry. Feedback is effective when both parties can logically approach issues or problems. Anger and emotions included in the feedback are unproductive. Use the proceeds to buy a cassette program or video on successful feedback.
- Require all employees to use resources to improve what they know about communication and listening. Have each employee summarize their resources for others which helps them practice communication and share what they learned with others.
- Host a “feedback” month where the focus for all employees will be to improve their skills in giving and receiving feedback. Change to a new skill in a subsequent month – this will insure that all employees are always learning a skill that is important to their personal and professional growth and performance. Involve the employees in the selection of the monthly skill focus so that all employees find the process meaningful and motivating.
