Listen Twice As Much As You Speak
Today we’re continuing our conversation about communication with this key piece of advice, “Listen twice as much as you speak.” Doing this will allow you to learn as much as possible from those around you, keeping yourself open to every opportunity while also creating a mutual sense of respect amongst your fellow employees. And the best kind of listening is active listening: a skill that involves completely focusing on a speaker, fully processing what it is they have to say, understanding it, then responding helpfully. We’ve collected tips from the pros to ensure you’re able to do just that.
For our first trick, we’re turning CEO Elle Kaplan. While her thoughts on the power of active listening in workplace settings may be directed at business leaders, there’s plenty you can learn from her, too. After all, you should be thinking and acting like a leader in your professional environment! Kaplan provides this important tip to active listening: “Resist the urge to think about what to say next. You’ll draw better conclusions after the other person has finished speaking. It takes time to truly understand someone’s meaning — what’s behind the words. Those who you work with will take notice, and you’ll soon have their sincere and valuable trust.” Building up that real trust is an invaluable component of forging a genuine workplace community, one that allows everyone to feel and do their best. Take initiative in creating that community by actively listening to both your bosses and colleagues.
The experts at Indeed offer up both a tip and an example of that advice in action: “Ask open-ended questions. Ask questions that show you’ve gathered the essence of what they’ve shared, and guides them into sharing additional information. Make sure these questions cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Example: ‘You’re right—the onboarding procedure could use some updating. What changes would you want to make to the process over the next six months?’” Asking questions also shows that you care and are committed to producing stellar work that more than meets your organization’s needs, in addition to allowing you to be aware of how your efforts fit into the big picture at your company.
Don’t just passively “hear” those around you–actively listen! Make yourself indispensable to any professional environment by displaying genuine care and attention through your active listening skills. Communication is key. And listening is a key component of communicating! We’ll be back tomorrow with our Wednesday Wellness: Communication edition to help guide you become an even better workplace communicator.
This posting is brought to you by Contemporaries Inc., one of the best temp agencies in Boston MA. Also available for payrolling employees in Boston and Greater Boston
Recent Posts
Feel Good Friday: Balance
Happy Friday! We’re excited to close out the week with a consideration of the various ways in which you can strive to find balance in order to contribute to a greater sense of equilibrium both in your professional environment and beyond. As it’s Friday, you might be...
Finding Your Own Best Work-Life Balance
As the end of the work week draws near, today we’re continuing our theme of the week, Balance, by exploring even more approaches to establishing and maintaining the right work-life balance for you. Just as each person has their own unique set of professional...
Wednesday Wellness: Balance
Happy Hump Day! You’ve made it to the week’s midpoint--aka a perfect time to consider ways to best achieve a professional sense of balance. Achieving that balance is something that takes practice rather than occurring overnight. If you find yourself stumbling along...
Achieving Your Best Work Life Balance
Continuing this week’s focus on balance, today we’re looking at ways to best achieve a healthy work life balance. This tips tackle approaches that address both the “work” and “life” components of this concept, helping you to find your footing both in the workplace and...
Monday Mood Booster: Balance
Welcome back! This week we’re focusing on maintaining balance in your workplace and beyond, bringing the sense of rest and the recharging you did over the weekend into your professional environment and spreading that sense of balance out all the way through the rest...
Feel Good Friday: Pause
Happy Friday! You’ve made it to the end of the week again and can soon lean into the peaceful pause the weekend offers. Let yourself enjoy it! While we’ve reached the week’s end, we’re also at the month’s mid-point--and there’s no better time to press pause and...
Helping Yourself and Others During Downtime
It can be easy to feel down and disconnected during this time of uncertainty. And especially during this week of April showers! While there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel shining, we know that you may be feeling like you’ve had to put your life on hold. But...
Wednesday Wellness: Pause
You’re halfway through the workweek. What better time is there than to pause and think about both where you’re going and where you’ve been? There will inevitably be lulls during your workday--take these as opportunities to breathe before plunging back into your tasks....
Making the Most of Slower Times at Work
Continuing our theme this week of making sure to implement variety in your professional routine by hitting the pause button from time to time instead of always proceeding full steam ahead, today we’ll be examining ways to make the most out of slower times in your...
Monday Mood Booster: Pause
Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful and restorative weekend. Our focus lately has been on ways to keep moving forward. And while you’ll want to make sure you’re maintaining a positive trajectory, it’s also important to take time to slow down: to hit the pause...
Feel Good Friday: Weathering the Storm
Congratulations! You’ve pushed through the maelstrom of everything your professional environment may have thrown your way and made it to the end of the week. And that is truly something to celebrate! We’re excited to see you back here. And want to give you one last...
Boost Your Workplace Energy Through Movement
Today we’re continuing our focus on developing holistic ways to keep going in any professional environment, no matter the figurative or literal weather conditions you encounter along the way. Both your mind and your body are part of the workplace equation! And it’s...
Wednesday Wellness: Weathering the Storm
Happy Wednesday! You’ve made it the midpoint of the week--the eye of the storm, to continue our metaphor. Take today to remember and appreciate the calm you can find in the world, to steady yourself and get ready for the rest of the week’s figurative strong winds. No...
Give Yourself Energy Boosts in Any Professional Environment
As we continue to navigate storms both literal and figurative, it’s important to keep your body and mind in tip-top shape, whether you’re working from home or onsite. Taking this holistic approach will help you persevere through any circumstances you encounter in any...