How Well Do You Listen?

1
How Well Do You Listen?

• What are you thinking about when someone is
  speaking to you?
• If you frequently interrupt the speaker, what are
  the consequences for you?
• How could you improve your listening skills?

2
Communication

• Effective communication can be measured by the
  response you get from other people.
• You condition people to communicate with you in a
  certain way by the way you communicate. Most of
  us hear, not listen and talk, not communicate.
• Effective communication is planned with an
  outcome.
• The manager must have the capacity to put ones
  self in anothers place and respond accordingly.

3
Active Listening

1. LISTEN WITH FULL ATTENTION. Assume an open
   posture, establish rapport.
2. DONT INTERRUPT, ESPECIALLY WITHOUT APOLOGY. This
   can mean blatantly, such as breaking someones
   concentration or finishing a sentence for them,
   or subtly, such as offering unsolicited advice.
3. LISTEN FOR BOTH CONTENT AND FEELINGS. Reflect
   your understanding before you respond
   particularly if the comment is inflammatory.

4
Active Listening, cont.

• WALK IN YOUR SPEAKERS SHOES. Listen from his or
  her perspective.
• AVOID RESPONSES THAT SHUT DOWN THE COMMUNICATION
  PROCESS. Reflect instead.
• Comment Boy, that patient gave me a hard time. I
  cant believe it.
• Derailing response I had one just like that
  yesterday. Let me tell you what she said.
• Discounting response I dont know why you worry
  about it. Some people you just cant please.
• Advising response I think when a patient tries
  to give you a hard time, the best thing to do
  is...
• Reflecting response Sounds like a particularly
  tough case. What happened?

5
Active Listening, cont.

• CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING. NEVER ASSUME. Instead,
  ask clarifying questions.
• Speaker I just dont see how I can get ready to
  leave for vacation by Friday afternoon.
• Listener Are you saying you would like to
  reschedule your vacation?
• Speaker Yes, if thats OK with you. OR
• Speaker No, but I sure could use some help
  getting this payroll out.

6
Active Listening, cont.

1. LISTEN FOR IDEAS, NOT JUST FACTS. Listen for the
   central theme. Try to get the big picture.
2. JUDGE CONTENT, NOT DELIVERY. Tolerate bad
   speakers habits.
3. EVALUATE, BUT DONT DEBATE.
4. LISTENING IS WORK. WORK AT IT!

7
Listening With the Whole Body(Non-verbal)

• L ean towards the speaker
• I nvolved posture (arms unfolded, legs
  uncrossed)
• S mile appropriately
• T erritory (space, distance, physical barriers)
• E ye contact (have good eye contact 60 of the
  time)
• N on-distracting movements (nodding, move as the
• speaker moves) (Some distracting movements are
  
• jingling change, tapping your fingernails,
  tapping your leg)

8
Top Ten Communication Barriers

1. Resistance to change
2. Tendency not to listen
3. Lack of feedback
4. Too many gatekeepers
5. Lack of trust
6. Either-or thinking
7. Defensiveness
8. Hostile attitude
9. Know-it-all attitude
10. Emotional reactions

9
Resistance to Change

• In any health care organization, supervisors must
  constantly change to meet the varying needs of
  the organization and its employees. Supervisors
  must be extremely cautious of how change affects
  their employees. Frequently, changes are met with
  employee resistance because these changes
  threaten to disrupt the employees routine
  behaviors. The supervisors should communicate the
  changes positively in order to reduce employee
  anxiety. Supervisors need to explain clearly why
  the changes were made and how the changes are
  going to affect the employees individually.

10
Tendency Not to Listen

• Poor listening skills have been cited as a major
  communication barrier across several professions.
  The health care industry is no exception.
  Supervisors need to listen attentively,
  carefully, objectively, and empathetically to
  their employees. Supervisors must listen to
  understand and develop a climate that encourages
  employees to be open with their feelings.
  Effective supervisors can never listen too much.

11
Lack of Feedback

• For supervisors to understand whether they are
  meeting the needs of their employees, they must
  receive feedback from employees. Also,
  supervisors need to know whether their messages
  are understood completely by employees.
  Questioning the employees with sincerity about
  their understanding of a message helps promote
  effective communication. Supervisors must develop
  a policy that encourages and supports good
  employee communication.

12
Too Many Gatekeepers

• Generally, the more transfer stations or
  gatekeepers between the subordinate and
  supervisor, the more likely the information can
  become distorted. Obviously, the supervisor needs
  to reduce the number of gatekeepers. If multiple
  channels must be followed for the sake of the
  chain of command, then the message should be as
  explicit as possible. Messages sent orally should
  be followed by written messages to ensure
  preservation of content throughout the channeling
  process. Also, supervisors should make themselves
  more accessible to subordinates. This will reduce
  employee frustration and encourage a more
  cooperative attitude.

13
Either-Or Thinking

• The working world, as with life itself, is filled
  with many differences between people and
  differences in how these people go about
  performing work. The same goal often can be
  reached by different methods. As in football,
  where touchdowns can be scored via the run or the
  pass, it is usually possible at work to
  accomplish tasks by using different methods.
  People who take the rigid either-or approach
  unnecessarily restrict their options by ruling
  out all other possibilities.

14
Either-Or Thinking, cont.

• Especially with complex problems, talking with
  several different individuals is more desirable
  than making a unilateral decision. Of course,
  talking with several different individuals
  usually results in a variety of opinions. The
  supervisor must then make a selection from among
  options. Such an approach takes more effort but
  often results in a better decision. Also, by
  using the communication device of seeking the
  opinions of others, the health care supervisor
  begins to develop the reputation of a
  participative manager. Participation is
  considered a highly desirable management
  characteristic.

15
Defensiveness

• Some people are seldom approachable and some are
  unapproachable at certain times. This state of
  not being approachable is defensive in that
  people place priority in mounting protective
  devices to shield themselves in their relations
  with other people. These individuals are fearful
  that they will be vulnerable to verbal attack,
  and thus take defensive measures, such as being
  unwilling to consider points of view other than
  their own. When people show signs of
  defensiveness, others find difficulty in
  communicating. In fact, other people often do not
  even try because experience indicates that the
  defensive shell cannot be penetrated.

16
Hostile Attitude

• Rather than taking a defensive posture to protect
  themselves, as is the case with defensiveness,
  some people attack others to protect themselves.
  This is evident when a hostile attitude is
  displayed. People who exhibit this characteristic
  are belligerent and show hatred in their
  aggressiveness. They often are angry and
  antagonistic. Subordinates and coworkers do not
  feel comfortable trying to communicate with the
  person who exhibits a hostile attitude. The
  problem with this and other barriers is that
  necessary communication that influences the
  organizations effectiveness doesnt occur.
  People will hesitate to communicate in this
  environment because battles so often develop.

17
Know-it-All Attitude

• A bothersome barrier, even if not as discomfiting
  as defensiveness and hostility, is the person who
  gives the impression of knowing everything.
  Relatively few people are bothered by an
  individual with acknowledged expertise in a
  certain subject even if that person is somewhat
  obnoxious. However, the person who pretends to
  know everything about every subject that emerges
  usually is held in low regard. Others are turned
  off by this behavior and therefore often do not
  want to even enter the communication network.

18
Emotional Reactions

• Most people will react emotionally to stimuli
  that deeply affect them. In general, such
  behavior is considered normal and most others
  understand that infrequent emotional response
  goes with the human condition. However, the
  frequency and degree of emotion shown are
  important considerations. For example, a person
  who gets upset nearly every time a change is
  suggested becomes difficult to work with in a
  complex health organization where change seems to
  be endemic to the environment. People who allow
  their emotions to override rational behavior are
  troublesome individuals to communicate with.
  Others often shy away from communicating with
  people who cry or displace anger easily.