3 best practices for effective communication
The way we communicate as teams and businesses has changed due to the advent of hybrid work. No longer are we walking over to each others’ desks for a quick chat. Effective communication in the current hybrid environment requires purposeful participation, not just when speaking, but also listening.
The power of listening often gets discounted, despite the fact that listening shows others respect, builds understanding, and strengthens business relationships.
When looking for effective communication strategies, we tend to focus on finding ways to present our own ideas better, forgetting that communication is not a monologue. We have to listen to others, as well.
Following many years of meetings–new client pitches, onboarding staff, interviewing new team members, client kickoff meetings, termination notifications–my biggest takeaways are generated from the questions that were asked, and from the way my team gained a better understanding of the situation by listening to what was said.
And yet, it’s human nature for extroverts like me to talk more to drive discussions and desired outcomes. It was noted in a recent article that “People who are high in extroversion tend to seek out social stimulation and opportunities to engage with others. These individuals are often described as being full of life, energy, and positivity. In group situations, extroverts (extraverts) are likely to talk often and assert themselves.”
Over the years, I’ve perfected the art of listening, alongside engaging with the people in the room. These are my key takeaways about the art of listening.
1. Active vs passive listening
Listening is something that we’re always doing; we don’t even think about it because listening is a passive task. Which is why active listening is an art unto itself. According to Forbes, listening to understand is an introvert trait, whereas listening to respond is generally an aspect of extroversion. The practice of active listening, without the urge to add a response, will help you understand more, empathize better, and learn more from a conversation. It has helped me immensely to be a better entrepreneur and leader.
Let me share an example of when our team missed the mark on active listening. During a recent client meeting, we were revealing our communications strategy for the client where we outlined three social media platforms to consider for their service. The client asked us if these recommendations aligned with the platforms where their target market will be engaged. She asked us how to encourage influencers to engage on these new platforms. The team didn’t have all the answers.
Had the team practiced active listening during previous meetings where we presented the first stages of our communications strategy, they would have been able to anticipate these questions. They would have come prepared with solutions and we could have given the client the quality answers they deserved. This is a process that we have greatly improved since.
2. Listening improves problem-solving
When clients come to Magnolia, it’s because they’re encountering a problem that we can help them solve. But if we don’t listen to them with intent, we can’t offer solutions that will solve their problems. By allowing our clients to talk to us, we get the time to think about solutions. We also learn their perspectives, which enables our creativity.
We were discussing a paid social ads campaign with a SaaS client, who was most concerned about 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.
As we listened with intent, we understood that our client’s main concern was making sure his leads aligned with sales goals. Our takeaway was that we needed to get highly quality MQLs that would translate to SQLs, instead of just a large number of leads. When we executed the campaign, we managed to achieve that goal for our client.
3. Listening to build business relationships
As a PR and marketing agency, much of what we do relies on relationship-building. We don’t create social media posts and write media pitches without thought. Every strategy we build and campaign we execute is based on what we’ve learned from our relationships with our clients, the media, and the industries we serve.
During a recent client onboarding, we had done in-depth research to understand the client’s areas of interest. Armed with our research and our bank of questions, we were ready to engage with the client and share our ideas. However, at the meeting, we learned that the client was interested in penetrating a new market. We obviously had no idea. Instead of panicking, we listened with purpose, noting down the reasons for their new interest, and the kind of exposure they wanted in that market.
Through purposeful and active listening, we were able to pivot, ask new questions, and tailor our strategy for the client according to their changing needs.
Active listening is an essential part of effective communication
Being a good listener doesn’t mean being passive. It means giving everyone in the conversation a chance to speak and be heard, engaging with different viewpoints, and being truly present to derive meaning from the discussion. This is the essence of the art of listening.
