Active listening – the game changing tool

If you are in business, most likely you enter meetings with clear goals and well prepared to achieve them.

Either you know the other party or not, by intuition you start your meeting with ‚small talks‘. Very soon, however your ego is taking the control over the situation and you become fully focused on your goals: professionally present yourself, close the deal and get the bonus. 

You have lots of good arguments in your pocket. On the table there is a deck of customised slides you created last night. In your slides value propositions or calculations. By other words, you have done your homework and now you want to present it and shine up.
Let’s go. 

You start the dialog. ‚Hopefully they don’t have too many questions‘, passes your head. As you feel you are short of time. When your inner times gives you a signal, you ask a question.

While the other party is replying, you’re selecting right arguments. And, in parallel, your mind is in a calendar, in your email box, or checking your smart watch vibrating on your hand. Your mind is like occupied with some inner voice. 

In most of the cases actually there is no difference in shoes of the other party. Yes, from outside it looks like a dialogue but in reality, it’s a meeting of 4 parties – 2 people and 2 voices (one in each head) – where people build on what they wanted or thought to hear.

If the story sounds crazy then you are better then many salespeople. However, if you find a bit of yourself among the lines then I have good news for you. There is one practical and very useful technique that helps to calm down your inner voice and to focus on other’s words.

The technique is called – ACTIVE LISTENING. And it can help you to communicate better, sell value, be naturally respected, and differentiate from competition.

You can turn on the mode of active listening when you stop selling and start seeking for an improvement that can serves both parties greatly.

10 TIPS TO MASTER ACTIVE LISTENING

1. Be honestly interested
2. Empathise
3. Read the body language
4. Ask powerful questions
5. Confirm your understanding | paraphrase
6. Dive below the surface
7. Share your experience
8. Listen
9. Get comfortable with silence
10. Don’t judge

Being a good listeners matters because when you are listening you are actually leading the conversation.

Leading the conversation helps you unleash needs and frame your product(s) into a solutions.

Delivering a solution means you are moving from price- to value-based discussions.

If you want to master your communication skills, have a look to this masterclass

Have a successful day,

Yours Andrea