Corporate Affairs

70% of what women hear is misunderstood or misinterpreted. The reason being few of us have been taught to listen. Schools focus on teaching reading, writing and speaking. This is ironic as 45% of our days are spent listening.

Communication is often ineffective because:
People listen to 25% of the content of what is being said
You recall 50% of what you hear when you actually listen
70% of misunderstandings occur because people do not listen to each other
Hearing vs listening.
Hearing is the physical ability to transmit sound waves from eardrum to the brain. Listening is being attuned to sound. Listening is an active, versus a passive, process.
The average person speaks about 150 – 200 words per minute, while your brain processes about 650 words per minute. This explains why your thoughts wander and why we need to make the effort to listen actively.
Identify your Preferred Listening Interrupters (PLI’s):
To actively listen you must be aware to what blocks your listening. By becoming aware of your PLI’s you will be able to focus on the person talking and listen 100%.

Some PLI's are:
the environment i.e. background noise, physical comfort, speaker’s communication style and interruptions
your opinions i.e. past experiences, prejudices, preparing a response and personal agendas
your physical / mental state i.e. time of day, lack of sleep, multiple track syndrome, and time pressures
Tips to improve listening:
Reflect back the speaker’s feelings and demonstrate empathy – “ Thuli, I am sensing you are upset because you didn’t get promoted.”
Clarify by asking questions – “ Kobus, when you say Martie was unprofessional, what exactly do you mean?”
Remain silent – pause before responding and avoid interrupting the speaker. This encourages the speaker to give more information.
Summarise what has been said to ensure even better understanding.
Focus on the speaker physically by taking notes and giving non-verbal cues and mentally by focusing on the emotions behind the words.
Practise patience – slow your internal voice.
Keep an open-mind – learn new information and “walk a mile in another man’s shoes”.

For more information on our Communication Excellence workshops contact us at Professional Impressions

Tel: 011 467 5126 Email: prof–imp@mweb.co.za   Web: www.profimpressions.co.za