Stay focused Prevent yourself from being distracted by colleagues or external noises and concentrate on what your caller

is saying. Detect emotions Listen to the emotion in your callers voice. Does it match or endorse the words they are using? Ask questions Ask questions to gain more information on points you need to clarify. Dont interrupt You listen more effectively when youre not talking, so refrain from interrupting your caller. Let them finish what they are saying, interruptions may break their train of thought. Dont pre-empt Avoid pre-empting what your caller is going to say, chances are you will be wrong and miss some of the content of their conversation. Recap key facts Summarise and reflect back to check you have heard the key facts and c ontent of the callers conversation correctly. It also lets the caller know you have understood them. Statements such as What Im hearing is and Sounds like you are saying are great ways to reflect back and summarise. Pen and paper at the ready Have a pen and paper to hand and get into the habit of making short quick references to any questions you want to ask or points you wish to raise or comment on. When your caller has finished speaking refer back to your notes and take action. If you are thinking of answers and responses whilst the caller is speaking, you are not listening. Say it again If you are having difficulty listening, make the necessary adjustments. You might say, Im sorry I missed that last point. Please repeat that for me. Watch the stereotypes Avoid stereotyping individuals by making assumptions about how you expect them to act and what you expect them to say. This will bias your listening. Be aware of the barriers to listening We think were right and the other person is wrong We feel we have to provide help right away

We prefer to talk rather than listen We are waiting for gaps or pauses to jump in with our response
And dont forget to keep practising Eliminating Distractions One of my first sales jobs was working as a financial adviser for a busy estate agent in a major city. My desk was right by a large picture window opening up to Guildford High Street. On a Saturday or a busy lunchtime, hundreds of people would walk by, some would stare in at me. Cars and trucks would drive by and there would always be some movement going on outside.

And meanwhile I had to use the phone to speak with customers. I also recall the very next day being told in the morning that the company I worked for was up for sale. Suddenly the external distraction of the window didn't matter, as my head was full of internal distractions this time to prevent me from listening to my customer. Its so difficult selling on the phone when the world is full of distractions.

External Distractions I'm always amazed when I'm coaching people who use the phone all the time, how many distractions there are that can prevent you from listening 100% to the customer. There's always people coming up asking if you want a cup of tea, people wandering around, some people making lots of noise. A general buzz.

A useful exercise is to make a list of all the external things that can cause you a distraction and then make some decision about what you can do about them, so as to minimize their effect. Here are a few examples.

Distractions on desk Distractions on screen Noise in the office Colleagues interrupting Watching colleagues

Internal Distractions Equally annoying are the internal distractions that dominate our thoughts. The fact is we speak at about 150 words per minute, but think at 750 words a minute. So you can see why our head is always so full of words and self talk. So how do we fill the gap? Here's some examples of internal distractions: Daydreaming - half listening though mind wandering off Filtering - hearing what you want to hear Making assumptions - you know what they mean already Rehearsing - thinking about what you are going to say next Placating - right...yes...I know...absolutely...you are being nice and agree with everything Easier said than done, but the key here is to understand your internal distractions - identify them and then make a decision to fix them.

Review the following statements. Put a check by the statements that most closely match your listening traits. 1. I tune out when something is boring to me. 2. I listen to the whole story before making a decision or coming to a conclusion. 3. I often begin formulating a response in my head as the other person talks. 4. I really try to understand the other person's point when listening. 5. Sometimes, I start listening on a negative note. 6. I objectively evaluate all information, regardless of the source. 7. My mind wanders to unrelated material when the speaker is talking. 8. I can tune out distractions such as noise when I am listening. 9. I judge the information before I truly understand what the speaker means. 10. I leave my emotions outside when listening. I listen with an objective mind. 11. I often interrupt the speaker so that I can say what I want to say. 12. I force myself to never mentally argue with the speaker when he or she is speaking. 13. I answer questions that are asked of other people. 14. I usually accept information as true from people I like and respect. 15. I eliminate some information from the message to simplify what I am hearing. 16. I force myself to be silent during conversations so that I can focus on what is being said instead of what I am going to say. If you checked more odd numbers than even numbers, you have created some monumental barriers to effective listening. If you checked more even numbers than odd numbers, you have learned how to eliminate many barriers to the listening process.