Skills: Listening

Erica Gingerich: I had an uncomfortable meeting with my team leader today. She said that she was "disappointed" in the team's performance. She said the results of the performance review were "unexpected", and that management was putting "pressure" on her to do something about it. Perhaps I should have asked her to explain more. I think I need some help with this... I'll turn the microphone over to communication skills expert Ken Taylor. Over to you, Ken.

Ken: Thank you Erica. Listening is a key business skill. But this does not only involve silently hearing what the other person has to say. We want to help deepen the conversation, and a good method to use is the "keyword approach". The idea is to listen carefully to the vocabulary used by the person who is speaking.  You then use these key words to ask questions or to make sure you understand what was said. Listen to this example

+ I think we need to improve our conference call manners.
-> What exactly do you mean by “manners”?

OK? After each statement, pick up the keywords and ask a question beginning with: “What do you mean by...?”

+ I was very disappointed in the team’s performance.
-> What exactly do you mean by “disappointed”?

+ The results were quite unexpected.
-> What exactly do you mean by “unexpected”?

+ Management is putting pressure on me about this.
-> What exactly do you mean by “pressure”?

+ We’ll have to finish this really quickly.
-> What exactly do you mean by “really quickly”?

Ken:  Good. Now we’ll try it with a similar phrase. Listen:

+ His actions will have consequences for the whole team.
-> When you say “consequences”, what exactly do you mean?

+ We’ll have to negotiate better conditions.
-> When you say “better conditions”, what exactly do you mean?

+ We will have to look at the problems in customer service.
-> When you say “problems”, what exactly do you mean?

+ It was a very uncomfortable discussion.
-> When you say “uncomfortable”, what exactly do you mean?

Erica: Let’s hope your next discussion is not “uncomfortable”. You’ll find more exercises to help you improve your listening and speaking skills on Business Spotlight Audio, and in the Business Skills section of the magazine. Our podcast is available every Tuesday at www.business-spotlight.de. Thanks for listening!