Listening Skills Workshop

Leadership – From Mouth To Ear

Listening Skills Workshop

Leadership – From Mouth To Ear

Goal Of Session

1. Think About How You Listen 1. Think About How You Listen

2. Realize Listening Is Important 2. Realize Listening Is Important

3. Learn About How You Listen 3. Learn About How You Listen

4. Learn One New Idea Or Insight 4. Learn One New Idea Or Insight

"Instead of listening to what is being said to them, many managers are already listening to what they are going to say.”

– Peter Drucker

What Listening Means

• A leader adjusts his/her listening style to give the other person the kind of support & direction needed

• Connecting with the person wanting to be heard

• Realizing that what is being said is only a part of it - body language, the tone

• Listening takes time, two way interaction and ability to translate

Remember

• The brain processes at 1,000 to 1,400 words per second

• The mouth can speak at 125 to 140 words per minute

• That leaves a lot of time for the mind to …… wander

To Listen

• Make sure you and who you are communicating with are ready to interact

• Don’t assume anything• Listening is not about lecturing, not

about dictating, not about winning your point

• Are you ready to receive• Are you connecting to the person not

just their words

A Personal Example

Dad David: Hannah & Carolyn, sweethearts, time to get up and get ready for school…

Response: Silence

Dad David: Girls, please listen to me, please get up, brush your teeth and get going …

Response: Silence

Your Father: I said, wake up, now do I have to come up there and carry you into the bathroom, girls I said let’s get going…

Response: Silence

Ruler Of The Domain: That’s it young ladies no TV for a week and…

Kristy, My Wife, Taps Me: They aren’t here. They went to school real early today.

Watch Video

Breakthrough ListeningEssential skills for improving communication and cooperation in the workplace

Listening Is About Breaking

Your Paradigms Of Communication

PIG!

Good Listening

• Make eye contact

• Do not have a closed body style

• Interact with the speaker without interrupting

• Repeat back what you hear to the speaker to confirm you heard them

• Limit distractions

• Connect to the key points

Listening Skills Exercise

• Break up into groups of three• Round One:

– One person talks– One of the other people in your group listens– The third person observes, takes notes and does

not interact

• The watcher shares observations with two others

• Round Two & Three: Now switch and do again with different people in the roles

• Share insights with the group

Listening Skills Exercise

One Person TalksOne Person Listens

One Person Observes

So What Did You Learn?

• “Listen to the sound of the river and you will catch fish.” – Old Irish Proverb

• “Genuine listening ability is a true competitive advantage.” - Fergal Quinn

• “Business people need to listen at least as much as they need to talk. Too manypeople fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.” - Lee Iacocca