One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Have you trained your frontline staff to listen with the right intent in their customer conversations? Do they use active listening? Are you hearing- really hearing - what your employees are saying to you?
This exercise allows you to confirm not only what you heard but also what your understanding is. Active listening means that you paraphrase back to the person you're speaking with your understanding of what he just said to you. Use active listening as a way to show that you've heard what is being said. let customers or employees know they are valued.On the other hand, if you listen with the intent to understand, you open up the possibilities. If you listen with the intent to reply, you. Doing the right things for the right reason in the right way is the key to Quality of Life. The focus of the conversation is singular rather than broader, perhaps opening up doors to other topics, features, sales, options, etc.
If you listen with the intent to reply, you don't hear everything that is being said. The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. If you're ready to reply after his first sentence, you might be missing some things. Use those cues, combined with what is being said, to form your response - after the customer is finished talking. The tone, pitch, or inflection of his voice or his body language (if you're seeing him in person) can tell you more than the words he is saying. Not only does hearing ensure you better understand but you may also discover that the customer is saying more than you thought. You're also better able to understand their questions or issues and address those or point customers in the right direction to get the issues resolved. When you stop, listen, and really hear, you are better able to understand customers' (or employees', as this applies to both) needs and jobs they are trying to do, allowing you to better design for those jobs or to fulfill those needs. When you listen, make sure you hear what is being said before you act or react. And in the customer conversation, that part is often missing. But do we actually hear what has been said? I think hearing requires a subsequent action or reaction. I would actually add a third component: hearing. When we think about a conversation, we typically understand that it has two parts: speaking and listening. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand they listen with the intent to reply. "We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.When you listen to customers or to employees, do you really listen? Or are you already anticipating your response or your reaction before they're finished talking?."You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time." -M."The art of conversation lies in listening." -Malcom Forbes."Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer." -Ed Cunningham."Most people do not listen with the intent to understand they listen with the intent to reply." -Stephen R.Most people never listen." -Ernest Hemingway "The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said" -Peter Drucker.
Language begins with listening." -Jeanette Winterson Seek First to Understand, Not to Respond We discussed in Habit 4 that an essential step in reaching a Win/Win solution is to try to understand the other person’s perspective and concerns.