Management Corner: Listening and Communicating

Management Corner

LISTENING AND COMMUNICATING

There is no such thing as too much communication. Work and personal stressors keep us busy and it’s easy for things to get lost in the shuffle. Even though life moves at an alarming pace, it’s important to slow down when information is being shared to help lower the chances of any misunderstandings. There are things you do to improve you listening and direct communication skills.

BECOME A BETTER LISTENER BY DEVELOPING THESE SKILLS:

Focus. Even when your intention is to listen closely, you may fail to do so if your undivided attention is not given to the speaker. Take a break from multitasking so you can focus on what is being said, retain the information and when needed respond with understanding.

Empathy. It’s easy to put ourselves in the shoes of someone we care about, but it’s important to extend that same empathy to everyone. Make the effort to step outside of your comfort zone and exercise kindness and compassion to improve your listening skills.

Self-Control. Wait for the other person to finish their thoughts before you jump in with your own. Even when you believe you are right or have an important thing to add, the other person will feel like you want to listen to them if you don’t interrupt what they have to say.

Inclusion. When it is your turn to speak, make it clear to the other person that you have been listening. Incorporate their perspectives and thoughts into your response. React to their narrative and arguments instead of delivering a planned speech that distracted you from listening.

TIPS FOR IMPROVING DIRECT COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

Language Matters. Qualifiers and unnecessary apologies should be removed for good. Start by reviewing your emails and other messages to see where and how you could have been more direct.

Leave Your Comfort Zone. Just like anything in life, the only way to improve at something is to practice. Start by challenging yourself to speak up twice during a meeting. This provides a reasonable goal that will help you get comfortable expressing your ideas to others. You can then leverage that new skill when you have a meeting to run or are asked to make a presentation.

Advocate for Yourself. Keep track of your accomplishments, positive feedback and other convincing metrics that can help quantify all your daily hard work. Before entering a conversation with this information do your homework and practice what you want to say so you don’t leave out any of your key points.

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