Do You Hear That?

I read a report in the Toronto Star stated that 70% of workplace errors happen because of communication breakdown and that many of them directly relate to a lack of listening skills.

The challenge is most people filter out sounds, noises and people talking as much as they filter out most of the things their eyes see.

On one level, this is important. You would go crazy if you processed everything that you heard and you would never be able to have a conversation with a person in a crowded room. However, we get in this habit so much of the time that we literately filter out things that are important to us.

Another challenge is that we can hear 5 to 10 times faster than we can talk, so our brains start to think of other things rather than focusing on understanding what is being said. In addition, there are many types of listeners and most people don't even realize which they are.

I have heard about many team projects that had disastrous results where the people involved "heard" something different and had a different view of the outcome.

I have a photo "of what someone heard", of a plane in a hanger and what subsequently surrounds the plane. When the supervisor was leaving he said, "Don, turn off the suds machine" Don thought he heard, don't turn off the suds machine, and thought ok? The next morning the hanger was filled with suds and the only parts left showing was the tail of the airplane.

It shows how, what we heard is our interpretation of what we think they said, after it has gone through our brain filtering system. I have seen many people hold grudges days, over what they believed was said, and not what the person actually said.

This saying sums it up nicely.

I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." ?Unknown

The benefits that come from improving your listening skills can mean the difference between moving ahead in your career, knowledge and skills or falling behind and wondering why.

Some of the benefits are:

Resolves Conflict - You are able to understand the other person better which leads to resolutions.
Increases performance ? When everyone is working on the same goal, you can perform like a well-oiled machine and everyone wins in the end.
Increases your knowledge - Chances are you will learn important information and ideas that will help you.

There are many ways to improve your listening.

Some of them are:

Make sure you are not talking
Remove distractions i.e. TV, radio, other people
Check your emotions
Watch for non-verbal clues

There are people who have said that they know they interrupt a lot, but are afraid of forgetting what they want to say. However, it is hard to reply to something when you haven't been listening to them in the first place. You are guessing at what they mean.

There are several things you can do to assist yourself, such as a note pad to jot down a word or two to help trigger your memory.

Sadly though, many people only listen to reply and not to understand. These people often don't realize the many benefits they are leaving behind.

"It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

All the Best!
Maria Boomhower
The Master Communicator
To sign up for a free report on
"The 7 Secrets to Communication Mastery"
go to: http://www.falconfreedom.com
Master Communicator Blog

P.S. If you like what you're reading in this ezine,
you'll love the book, "Overcoming Barriers to Communication"
Answer the questions;
Why doesn't anyone understand me?
Why do I have such a hard time getting my message across?
go to:Overcoming Barriers to Communication

---

Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees

Managing for Best PerformanceIn it's simplest form, performance management is... Read More

Developing Your Management Style

One thing a lot of us don't do in sales... Read More

Smart Staffing Practices: Don?t Confuse Activity with Results

Does your hiring process consist of proven practices or just... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Ideas for Everyday Training

This article relates to the Training competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Multiple Channels, Multiple Times

I've just been reading about the frustrations of a Human... Read More

The Dripping Faucet in Every Organization

Each day millions of workers spend 8 hours or more... Read More

Managers? Biggest Blunders

Nobody's perfect, including the boss. Managers, we polled recently, acknowledged... Read More

People Are Our Most Important Asset!

How many times have you heard or uttered this phrase... Read More

How To Jump Start Your Profits and Keep Your Profits Rolling

There are so many ways to jump start your prifits... Read More

Performance Management - By Assuming Nothing

Unhappy as Jenny undoubtedly was, she held on very tightly... Read More

Project Management - The Traveling Product Manager

Various studies ? and common sense ? indicate that involving... Read More

Getting to Consensus

The need to get people in an organization to pull... Read More

The Ten Keys to Maximizing Employee Performance

1. Let people know what you expect. If people know... Read More

The Narcissist in the Workplace

To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary... Read More

Nine Steps to Help You Develop Your Potential

Go into any bookstore and you will find a big... Read More

Think it Over

You can't solve a problem with the... Read More

Taking Care of Middle Manager Bounce Off

How many times have the management consultants been 'in' and... Read More

The Best Way to Keep Track of Meetings

How should you keep track of meetings?Have you ever wanted... Read More

When Being A Facilitator DOESNT Help

I talked with a group of internal consultants last week... Read More

Building Shareholder Value Through Your People

Increasing shareholder value is the most important driver for organisations... Read More

Hire People For What They Do Best

I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just... Read More

Lone Rangers Suffer without Tonto

A lone ranger is someone who prefers working in solitude... Read More

Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)

In our experience, we have found that there are several... Read More

Business & Family Safety and Health Rating

For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated.... Read More

3 Steps You Can Use Developing Leaders In Your Industry

With the economy bordering on a recession, every company is... Read More

Corporate Governance for Business Owners

It is clear that good Corporate Governance is in the... Read More

Invite Self-Managed Staff

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to... Read More

Hidden Consultants Within Your Organization

You've all heard the old joke about a consultant being... Read More

Human Resource Communication Pays Off

Human Resource Communications and Corporate Communications ? are they one... Read More

Management Development - Micromanagement Works!

Getting into the detail of everything each of your people... Read More

The Higher You Go

The higher you go, the cooler it becomes. Really? Let... Read More

Training Managers and New Trainers

Training managers use many of the same interpersonal and analytical... Read More

Dont Take New Hires for Granted

Hiring good people is only half the battle. The other... Read More