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Managerial Inputs in Development - LISTEN !
Jim Corbett, the great hunter and naturalist, was often asked
the secret of his ability to ‘read' the jungle (so much so, that Col.
Wingate who commanded the legendary ‘Chindits',
a World War II Allied guerilla force operating behind enemy lines in
Japanese-occupied Burma-today ‘Myanmar'--- had him specially brought in to train the Chindits in jungle craft!). Corbett always
replied that it
spoke to him… he just listened!
Most of us love to hear ourselves talk. So
enamored are we of the applause that follows a snappy repartee, we do not pay
close attention to what the other person is saying! We are hearing, not listening, as cautioned by the
30-year old lyrics by Simon & Garfunkle in the sound track of the Oscar-winning
movie, The Graduate
45-60 % of comprehension results
from non-verbal communication, i.e. movement of eyes, hands,
head, gestures or body posture/language. This why we
have such animated TV newsreaders, and
partly explains why we relate to them more. This
public adulation gives these not extraordinary people a
celebrity status disproportionate to their job content…all because we listen to
them.
The day TV becomes inter-active, we will be closer to true
‘Active listening', because we have to reinforce the
exchange by feed-back, that we are following closely-“ Oh! I don't
believe it! And what happened next??”
Music to a talker's ears. The listener is not just hearing, but really
listening. Politicians (professional talkers) indulge in occasional
histrionics to revive attention if the audience is reaching the boredom barrier.
They will thump tables, wave their arms, smack fist into palm…. driving the
point home!
Now
here are some ways of turning off people:
- Using
phrases like “You ought to…”or “You always….” , an
invitation to reciprocal rejection.
- Poor
perception of speaker's credibility/ status
- Fear
of having opinions challenged
-
Misinterpretation of the words used
-
Avoiding conflict by shutting-out volatile sensory inputs
Then we might as well talk, not listen; it's much more fun! Right?
WRONG!!
People,
who don't listen, don't understand.
The benefits of listening are:
-
Improved quality/ quantity of information transferred
- Speed
of information-transfer increases
- Gives
recognition/‘strokes', leads to better relationships/deeper understandings
-
Increases ability to handle people
-
Relieves stress/ tensions
- Gives
insights into ourselves, improves thought processes
Be a
good listener if you want people under you to grow.
QUESTIONS:
- How
important do you think speech is as compared to hearing? Why was Helen Keller
dumb, at first? Was it because she could not hear, could not ‘listen'? Then why is ability to listen so
important? Explain?
- Can
we hear without listening? How many ways do we absorb information from external
sources? Is there any inter-connectivity between
them, and if so, of what significance is it to management?
