We keep listening to lot of people in the workplace managing
director, senior business leaders, reporting manager, colleagues, co-workers,
clients and so on. The most neglected skill in communication is listening with
alertness. Listening actively is a powerful tool in workplace communication. Listening has great potential for growth.
Listening reduces conflicts and misunderstanding at the workplace. When we
listen totally to what is being said by the other team member, it works as a
great motivational step towards work. Of
late lot of emphasis is being shown towards developing skills of listening at
workplaces. Though listening looks simple, it needs a considerable amount of
sincere dedication. Sincere listening will develop workplace relationships,
enrich group productivity and boosts mood.
Listen to Learn and Understand
In every conversation, just listen at what the other person
is saying. Do not pre-judge what the person is going to say and do not be
biased. Listen with an open attitude and understand what the other person is
conveying. This will help in learning something new which one would not have
heard before. One need not have to agree at everything that is being said,
however it is always good to understand. People with this ability to listen
will be able to understand tasks and projects well. Hence employers will look
for this skill during job interviews. On the other side also employers with
good listening abilities will be able to understand what the aspiring
candidates are conveying. Always resist the urge to say what to say next. Do not keep
thinking in your mind what to say next. The focus should be towards listening
completely what the other person is saying. Wait until the other person has
fully completed. This will help to truly understand the meaning behind the
words. When one follows this process at work, co-workers will start taking
notice. They will bring forth to discuss new ideas and would want to
collaborate in every project. This builds their sincere and valuable trust.
Listening Improves Workplace Performance
At workplaces, the workforce should feel comfortable voicing
their ideas freely and openly. Open expression and listening helps to put forth
the best ideas which will eventually gain traction in the group. listening works wonders for
productivity as the workforce. Valuing listening in an organisation adds to the
positivity of environment. listening
actively will make the workforce feel more energized, focused, and less prone
to distraction as they feel listened to. Lookout
for signs of body language and voice
tone. While one is speaking. The emotions of the speaker is also expressed with
eye and hand movements or in the voice which may not be evident when the same
message is written or typed. It may give a different perspective altogether. Listening is as important as talking. Real communication is
always two ways which many people fail to realize. Listening also reduces the
attrition rate as the raised concerns can be taken care of in the initial
stages only. Employees develop inner resentment when they feel they are not
being listened to. Thus listening plays a very important role in increasing the
workplace performance and productivity.
Avoids Misunderstandings
Listening skills
lead to improvising communication effectively. The listener is equally
responsible speaker as the speaker for communication issues. Information gets misinterpreted
when it is absorbed in bits and pieces and not whole communication. So one has
to listen carefully and understand the message. The listener thus plays a critical
role in understanding of important communication.
With right
listening skills, fewer misunderstandings will arise at the workplace. An active
listener can help in avoiding lot of miscommunication. This will strengthen inter-personal
relationships at the workplace. The work environment will be healthy and
conducive to productive work as there is an energy upliftment when bonding is
true. Every voice is heard boosts the morale of the entire team.
Active listening
skills does not help only in professional aspects but also in personal growth.
A good listener grasps new ideas from conversations alone many a time. It is a
part of continuous growth. This gives an opportunity to listen to inner
emotions and thereby aids in building emotional intelligence. A majority of all
internal issues will get resolved if the entire workforce starts practicing
effective listening and thereby impacts the growth of the company.
Record, and Listen to
Reflect
Ensure to take permission of conversations which you want to record.
Play the recordings and you will notice that you have skipped so much part of
the conversation especially in a group talk or discussion. Listening to
recordings will immensely help your listening building skills. When you listen and reflect upon the group conversation, it will help
you to arrive at newer perspectives and explore different dimensions of the
conversation which otherwise would not have been possible at the time of
recording. In live conversations, one can repeat the speaker’s words which is
termed as paraphrasing so as to fully understand what the speaker is saying.
These practices will help one to tread smoothly and successfully at workplace. Listening actively is a skill that can be built with little
care and dedicated effort to gain success at work and build lasting
relationships with colleagues or any team member.
Comment below with your thoughts.
Watch this space for more insights on healthy mindset for
self-leadership. Want to bring about the culture of progress,
performance and productivity for maximizing your profits, attend our Turning Point– Turn in and Tune in workshop.
Mail us at turningpoint@hasovan.com for more details. Our team would be happy to get in
touch. Catch the work-place philosophy of various companies in the book “Erupt with Joy” by Savitha
Hosamane.
0 comments:
Post a Comment