When we are looking for communication strategies or tips on effective communication, most of us focus on finding the tips to present our ideas better. We often forget that communication is not only a monologue. but we have to listen to the others as well.
After many years of meetings – new client pitches, onboarding staff, interviews for new team members, client kickoffs, termination notifications – my biggest takeaways come from what questions were asked, and how my team can practice active listening to gain better understanding and clarity. And yet, it’s human nature for extroverts like me to talk more to drive discussions and desired outcomes. A recent article notes that “People who are high in extroversion tend to seek out social stimulation and opportunities to engage with others. People often describe these individuals as being full of life, energy, and positivity. In group situations, extroverts (extraverts) are likely to talk often and assert themselves.”[1]
In 2005 I was working under Jason Cohenour, the then-CEO of Sierra Wireless and who IMHO, was the best in the business when it came to driving revenue to an organization.
We were about to go into a partner meeting with Verizon Wireless with the intent to settle on key joint programs. I eagerly showed him my list of “bullets” that I wanted to achieve from the meeting. Then, he glanced at them and asked what questions I had for them ahead of the meeting (I had none). That reminded me to listen with deep curiosity and intent, and be ready to ask the right questions to get my “bullets” crossed off.
Listening with intent helps to anticipate questions
Practicing active listening with the intent to understand more, from an effective communication standpoint, emphasize more and learn more has helped me immensely to be a better entrepreneur and leader. How critical is it to practice good listening to help predicate an outcome so you are ready to act on it with confidence? It would certainly give you an advantage.
The listener asks questions that clarify assumptions the other person has and helps her to see the issue in another light.[2]
In a recent client meeting to reveal our communications strategy, we outlined three social media platforms to consider for their service. She asked if these recommendations align with where their target market will be engaged. After that, she asked how to get influencers to engage on their new platforms. The key takeaway I got from this meeting was how my team responded to these questions.
If they practiced the art of intent listening from previous meetings where we presented a similar communications strategy, they would have anticipated these questions. In other words, by practicing and applying listening with intent, you can get ahead of the game with planned out, thoughtful answers. This allows us to give our clients the quality answers they deserve.
Listening with intent helps to formulate themes
Questions-asked and comments-made (I’m trying to figure out whether those need to be hyphenated) tend to form a theme to the biases of the commentator(s). The theme will give you a better sense of what motivates the speaker. By actively listening, you can derive these themes to serve better, communicate better and deliver better.
In discussing a paid social ads campaign with a SaaS client, he was most concerned with getting quality leads. Understandably so, as he was responsible for all things demand generation. His questions were not only related to the quality of leads, but also to the type of leads coming in – titles, organization size, markets, and customer journey. It was clear from listening with the intent that making sure the leads aligned with sales goals to get highly qualified MLQs was his main concern. Perhaps what matters more is not the number of leads but also the need for highly targeted quality.
By practicing and applying listening with the intent to the questions and concerns you hear, you can derive a theme. In this case, it was to ensure the pressure from sales to get quality leads was high and our job was to work with him to create programs that supported this agenda.
Good listening welcomes clarity and better understanding
In conclusion, being a good listener means you have given the conversation the space to hear different viewpoints, be truly present to see the facial expressions and derive meaning from them. Finally, it gave all involved in the conversation energy, insight and varying opinions. This is the essence of great listening.
[1] Verywellmind.com, “How Extroversion in Personality Influences Behavior” by Kendra Cherry, Marh 27. 2022
[2] HRB, “What great listeners actually do” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, July 2016
Author
Phoebe is the Founder and President of Magnolia. With a degree in Communications and an MBA in Marketing, Phoebe has led marketing campaigns with some of the biggest brands in the world – Dell, HP, Microsoft, Vodafone, and Unicom China.
Phoebe Yong
PRESIDENT