Be a listener, not an entertainer

💌 234 words ⌛ 1 minute

It's important to articulate yourself well - but as a manager, it's even more important to listen well. One part of listening is to give people your full attention. The other is to ask better questions, open-ended ones, that make your teammate talk.

Why it matters: You are not hired as an entertainer. If you talk all the time and tell stories, people don't have room to open up. You don't give them room for their problems and needs. Don't fill every empty moment with your words. Learning to listen will help you build better relationships - and higher levels of trust.

Dig deeper:

• Try this: Wait 7 seconds after the other person finishes their sentence. Only then you answer. This gives people room to tell their stories without interruption. And it gives you time to process what has been said.

• Switch from "Listening to respond" to "Listening to understand". this makes a huge difference in the quality of your conversations.

• Enter conversations to learn something - with a beginner’s mindset. This primes your mind for listening and focusing on details, rather than talking.

• Learn to ask better, open-ended questions: "How's your week going so far?" instead of "All good?"

• Don't default to unsolicited advice. People often want to get something off their chest, and want you to listen - nothing else.

How were your listening skills last week? Think about it.

— Daniel