Stop and listen: unless you embrace the power of listening, you won’t be an effective communicator! We live in a noisy world, where it is perceived that the loudest are the most successful. However listening: to your boss, your clients, your colleagues and friends have huge benefits and results to anyone!
Speaking to leading Event Planners and leaders in PR, they constantly tell me that charismatic and powerful people generally have an extraordinary ability to listen and make whoever is speaking to them feel they are REALLY being listened to as well as being important. I have certainly experienced very charismatic people who really listen to what you say. They engage with their eye contact: focusing on you – not over your shoulders at a more important person to speak to; their body language is open, not closed and you realise all of their attention and energy is on you and what you are saying! How to feel important, loved and valued!
In this week’s Superstar Communicator podcast the amazing Chris Withey shares his top tips for being an effective listener and to benefit from the power of listening. Chris is in the HR world and is aware of a culture of the loudest being the most powerful, that happens in some meetings. In those situations, people are only thinking about what they are going to say next, not actually listening to a conversation. The same for interviews: how often to candidates prepare “What they are going to say” rather than rehearse how they are going to listen to questions and answer in a confident manner? Listen to the podcast.
When an office, meeting or communication culture in an organisation is all about being the noisiest, it can be a challenge to have the courage to really listen (and to avoid getting sucked in to the chest punching and general power playing), but if you do, it results in you being more AWARE of what is going on and to be able to contribute to the conversation in a thoughtful, empowered and informed way. Far more effective and valuable than the power shouting. Listen to the podcast.
Also, how often have we been ‘talked at’ by people selling their products and services? They are SO focused on TELLING you how good they are, they fail to appreciate what you are looking for; and miss an opportunity. There are great sales people who spend most of any sales conversation listening; and from that they are able to establish what a client needs. Chris also talks about this. Listen to the podcast.
There is great value from acquiring the art of listening. This is certainly an area I work on with clients; having a two way conversation to become a superstar communicator, not JUST speaking! For more episodes of the Superstar Communicator podcast look here.
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