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Action Tip

Listen very carefully

Listening is an art, not an exact science. No ready-made formula can replace your openness to others, or your desire to discover what they have to tell you. However, you can create the right conditions for listening — and be aware of avoidable pitfalls.

Based on

You’re not listening by Kate de Murphy (Celadon Books, 2019)

1/ CREATE A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR TALKING 

Before starting a conversation, make sure the conditions are right for it to take place — ones in which you will be able to really listen:

  • Avoid noisy, open-space environments, with lots of people coming and going. Opt instead for a meeting room or a quiet office. Perhaps you could even go outside, if that’s a possibility. Some people are better at talking and listening when they are walking.
  • If you can’t have a face-to-face dialogue, try a phone call rather than emails and texting — these don’t let you hear the tone of voice, and the tone of voice can tell you a lot.
  • Know and set your limits. You can’t listen to everyone all the time. You risk hitting a saturation point. Determine the people you need to speak with most and what availability you have, and communicate this clearly.
  • Make your colleagues aware of any hearing difficulties. Hearing loss is very common, even at a young age, but often goes unnoticed, leading to awkwardness and misunderstandings.
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Marianne Gerard
Published by Marianne Gerard
A graduate of HEC and the Master's program in Psychology at Université Paris Cité, Marianne combines her expertise in management and human sciences to produce written content in the fields of higher education, publishing, and corporate communication. She also works as a psychologist.