But Do They Listen? Companies Making an Effort to Build Skill
Listen up.
The art of listening, by almost all accounts, is fading. And that decline, experts say, is undermining business performance and many people’s careers--not to mention contributing to a loss of civility in American life and even fatal accidents.
Lyman K. Steil, a St. Paul, Minn., consultant who specializes in promoting better listening, notes that if every American worker makes just one $10 gaffe a year because of poor listening, the cost to American business would be more than $1 billion.
Much of the blame for the erosion of listening skills is placed on today’s speeded-up, technology-driven way of life. Some social observers cite the role of TV, which doesn’t require people to pay focused attention the way genuine listening does.
Another underlying problem is that people speak too slowly to keep listeners fully engaged. Research has shown that the human mind can absorb information four or five times faster than the rate at which most people speak, about 120 to 125 words a minute.
The result: “We go off on mental tangents,” said Jack E. Hulbert, a specialist in interpersonal communication who recently retired as a business professor at North Carolina A&T; State University. “A lot of people drift in and out and don’t even realize it.”
To combat the problem of inattentiveness, some companies are promoting improved listening and communication techniques from the factory floor to the executive office. One prominent example is Starbucks Coffee, which set up an order-calling system at its stores five years ago to prevent foul-ups when customers buy special drinks.
At its most complex, the system covers nine types of instructions, including such points as whether a customer brought in a personal mug, wants an extra shot of espresso or special flavoring. (An order that would push the system close to its limit: “a personal decaffeinated double tall vanilla nonfat with-a-drop-of-chocolate-on-top latte.”
The policy of attentive listening, said Starbucks spokesman Alan Gulick, applies to inside-the-company communication too. He noted that the impetus behind one of the chain’s most popular drinks, an icy blend of coffee and milk known as Frappuccino, was a tip from a Santa Monica store manager.
Although listening might seem to come naturally, many people find it nearly impossible to turn off the talking inside their own heads and to avoid the temptation to interrupt another speaker.
“For me, it’s a constant battle,” admits David Stauffer, a Washington, D.C., writer of corporate annual reports and articles for management publications. “This urge to talk all the time, it’s always there.”
Diana Corley Schnapp, executive director of an Overland Park, Kan.-based professional group called the International Listening Assn., said listening “isn’t just what you do with your ears. Listening is a very complex set of behaviors we carry out.”
In fact, her group defines it as “the process of receiving, constructing meaning from and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages.”
To accomplish that, Schnapp and other experts urge people to be “active listeners.” One technique is to focus your attention by pretending that you will have to summarize a speaker’s remarks later.
Another tactic is to respond to the speaker by trying to paraphrase his or her remarks (“What I hear you saying is . . .”). It’s a good way of making sure you understand each other--if you don’t overdo it to the point that it gets annoying.
Some other listening tips:
* Don’t let your emotions, personal biases or the speaker’s appearance get in the way. When people use words that might trigger strong emotions, give them the benefit of the doubt and perhaps an opening for a verbal escape. For instance, if they say they have an “objection,” you might ask if it’s simply a “hesitation.”
“Giving people the opportunity to redirect their own statements is very good listening,” said Kathleen Reardon, a USC business school professor and an expert in negotiation and persuasion.
* Listen for the speaker’s intent, not just the words. Try to pick up the speaker’s underlying opinions and emotional signals. Be mindful of the context in which the speaker is making the remarks.
* Allow for pauses in a conversation. The extra time can help you provide a thoughtful response--instead of an emotional overreaction. “In our culture, there’s too little credit given to silence,” Reardon said.
* When you are doing the talking, inspire better listening by being a thoughtful speaker. Keep your remarks brief and figure out in advance of a meeting the two or three key points you want to make. If you find yourself talking too long, stop and ask an open-ended question.
* Make good listening a full-time commitment. “Practice with your family, your children, your neighbors,” said Edward C. Champagne, the Memphis, Tenn.-based training and development chief for International Paper Co., a company that emphasizes listening skills in its employee training. “It’s a skill, and if you don’t practice it, you’ll never develop it.”
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Times staff writer Stuart Silverstein can be reached at (213) 237-7887. If you can’t get him to listen, try sending him e-mail at stuart.silverstein@latimes.com.
