• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Noodles

Recipes For Life

  • Home
  • About Noodles
  • Health & Beauty
  • Entertainment & Leisure
  • Love & Relationships
  • Spirituality & Values

3 listening skills you can use in the office

May 25, 2011 by 1CE0 2 Comments

The one thing they don’t teach in business school is listening skills. We learn how to look and analyze numbers, or to play the different strategies. But we aren’t taught or even told of the importance of listening and communicating with people.

But you cant get anywhere without knowing how to listen to people, especially clients and bosses. It will help you understand motives, find shared goals, and clear up any misconceptions that can stand in the way of full teamwork. Here are 3 of the most important listening skills.

What did he mention first?

What were some of the first things he brought up? This will give you an idea of his priorities. You will also notice if the topic keeps reemerging throughout the conversation.

What are your shared values?

When you understand your boss or your client’s priorities, you can then look for a shared value. People are more cooperative and motivated if they know ‘what’s in it for me’ but the good news is that many times our interests intersect. For example, instead of seeing something as a plain ‘sales transaction’ or a ‘boring department meeting’ think of it as an opportunity to look where you can work together to achieve the same goal. He wants you to meet deadline. So do you. When the department is working faster and more efficiently you can go home on time. So now you know what language to use. ‘We can double the speed by which we finish our projects if we hire two more people. In fact with more manpower we may even be able to get more accounts. Here are the numbers and the projected increase in sales.’

What are the trust issues?

Trust is a difficult and elusive quality. Without trust, you listen and talk defensively, you look for what’s hidden, you are suspicious of what might be missing. You are afraid to share all your ideas or even of letting go of power. That’s the reason why many people end up micromanaging. If you don’t trust the person you’re working with, you can’t delegate. You can’t delegate, you can’t run a business.

You build a person’s trust by showing them that you are listening. Listening shows concern, and a sincere desire to find a common good and help achieve it. Mirroring what a person says—repeating what they said, referring back to a previous comment, summarizing the conversation before providing a suggestion or an action plan—all say, ‘I hear you, I understand you, and I will help you.’

Photo from betheljacob.org

Filed Under: Careers & Jobs, Work & Money Tagged With: career tips, communicaiton

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. » How to use NLP to improve your relationship with your boss o5 Recipes for Life says:
    July 25, 2011 at 11:56 pm

    […] more tips on dealing with different people, read our article on listening skills you can use in the office. Photo from […]

  2. Surprising ways to make a good first impression | o5 Recipes for Life says:
    October 30, 2011 at 8:25 am

    […] People like to feel affirmed and appreciated. But when we dominate a conversation, either because we’re so nervous that we can’t stop talking or from a bumbling desire to sound witty or successful, we do the complete opposite. They think, “He’s so self-obssessed!” or “He’s so boring!” Try to focus on the other person and ways to make them feel engaged and good about themselves. Don’t know where to start? Ask about her day. (For more life tips, read our article on listening skills.) […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Books & Film
  • Business & Investment
  • Careers & Jobs
  • Debt & Retirement
  • Diet & Fitness
  • Entertainment & Leisure
  • Family & Friends
  • Family & Home
  • Featured
  • Featured Slider
  • Finances & Credit
  • Food & Drink
  • Games & Hobbies
  • Green Living & DIY
  • Health & Beauty
  • Holistic & Anti-Aging
  • House & Garden
  • Legal
  • Love & Relationships
  • Love & Sex
  • Marriage & Divorce
  • Parenting & Education
  • Pets & Crafts
  • Popular
  • Pregnancy & Baby
  • Questions & Answers
  • Shopping & Technology
  • Singles & Dating
  • Skin Care & Your Body
  • Spirituality & Values
  • Stress & Management
  • Style & Fashion
  • Travel & Sports
  • Wellness & Kids Health
  • Work & Money

Recent Posts

  • Leaps and Bounds Beyond the Corporate Ladder: The Truth About Job Hopping
  • 10 Ways to Spend Less on your Nights Out
  • 5 Powerful Reasons to Take Food Supplements
  • Sleep: The Often Overlooked Factor in Healthy Living
  • 4 Parenting Behaviors that Are Harmful for Your Children

Copyright © 2023