I hope your week sparked off brilliantly!
Last week, we ventured into; “The Clarity Challenge“ and how vagueness in business promotes poor results and that clarity is power. If you missed it, you can see this and all of my previous blogs below.
Leading on from this, what goes hand-in-hand with clarity is: “Active Listening” and we cannot underestimate how critical this is in business and in life. This is a subject I frequently talk about because it’s importance cannot be emphasised enough and is a huge topic in itself.
If we ask a great question that is clear and specific, what then if we don’t listen to the answer?
How often have you been on the receiving end of someone asking you a question then don’t listen to your answer?
When I cover “Active Listening” in training programmes, even those who believed they were good listeners are taken aback when we delve into this further. Most realise that they haven’t actually been really listening – this is a real lightbulb moment and, frankly life-changing!
Communication is not just about speaking and hearing, a key element is active listening and another key element that must come into play here is Empathy.
Because an active and empathic listener enhances communication by ensuring that messages are not only conveyed clearly, but also understood and interpreted accurately. Paying attention to others and showing understanding through verbal and non-verbal cues are crucial skills that complement clarity and specificity in communication.
In turn, these skills will further expand the quality of our conversations in both personal and professional settings.
So how can we actively listen?
Well, it’s a huge topic and too much to go into in depth here. The aim of the “Thought for the Week” is to give food for thought and, in Coaching, giving people time to think is the spark that ignites change.
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand;
they listen with the intent to reply.”
-Stephen R. Covey-
Curious to learn more about how I can help you? Book a Complimentary Discovery Call with me HERE.
With best wishes for your success,