14 Dec 2013 Listening Challenge
On January 4, I recommended making one small change per month this year to become one of the best listeners in your organization and reap the rewards of better collaboration, higher trust, and improved teamwork. This month, we are up to our final challenge!
If you’ve been participating, then pat yourself on the back. If not, please join us now. It’s never too late. Even one challenge completed is better than none.
Your Listening Challenge for November was:
“Confirm understanding. Also known as paraphrasing, this technique ensures that you really do understand what the other person has been trying to tell you. You can keep it simple by just paraphrasing. For example, “So you believe that we can accrue goodwill points by running one more low-margin order while we’re negotiating with them for the order that’s aligned with our long-term strategy. Is that correct?” Alternately, you can introduce your paraphrasing using phrases such as, “So the main point you’d like me to understand is…” Confirming understanding will save you hundreds of hours of wasted time due to hidden misalignments and misinterpretations.”
How did it go?
Your final listening challenge, if you are willing to accept it, is:
Close the conversation. All of the effort to really hear what the other person is saying will not pay off if you forget to share your perspectives, confirm areas of agreement or disagreement, and decide on next steps.
Let me know how it’s going, share your thoughts about this month or the whole year, and ask your questions at: http://jenniferselbylong.com/?p=573.
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