Since 2005 I’ve asked every newly hired inside salesperson the question: have you ever taken a class on listening?
it’s 2022 and I recently crossed over and can no longer count on my hands the number of people who HAVE taken a class (before attending mine of course) specifically in listening: I’m up to 12… two of whom were music majors in college so the listening they experienced was a wee bit different than what we talk about in sales.
I’ll tell you what I tell people in my onboarding listening class: Listening is DIFFICULT.
This week practice listening – a little longer than you usually do.
Here are Three Tips to help you:
- turn off distractions – instead of trying to ignore them
- you can’t be having a conversation in your own head AND listen to someone
- focus your attention (to use Dr. Amishi Jha’s analog -> like a flashlight in a darkened room)
For more on listening check out my Listening Skill Snap Series