Listening skill is very important to become a successful entrepreneur. When you try to listen to others with care particularly your employees and customers whose feedback is important for you can help you to build loyal supporters for your brand.
Gary Ng is chairman and CEO of Chipping ham Financial Group, based in Toronto, and is the majority owner of The Rothenberg Group of Companies, a leading independent financial services broker based in Montreal. Gary Ng Winnipeg will become chairman of PI upon closing of the deal which, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, should be on November 30, 2018.
Here is how effective listening can make you a better entrepreneur?
Open up your body language:
Your body language can directly reveal your interest and disinterest. To show interest in somebody’s story, try to listen to them carefully, make proper eye contact, and lean a bit forward so that the other person should feel that you are interested in their story. Just a smile or nodding can show that you are interested and engaged in their story.
If you are at any networking event and you feel discomfort in interacting with others then you can just cross your arms or put them in your pocket. Your body language will discourage others from approaching you.
Stay engaged:
“You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time,” said M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist and best-selling author who wrote the book The Road Less Traveled, published in 1978 by Simon & Schuster. The book has sold over six million copies to date in North America alone, and has been translated into over 20 languages.
If want to show your interest in others’ work, then try to focus on the person who you are with rather than caring about what’s going on around you. If you are talking to someone on the phone, move away from your computer and give full attention to listening to them. This will make others feel important and valued when you give them attention.
Resist the urge to interrupt:
When you are talking to someone in a meeting or in your personal life, you need to listen to them carefully. If you want to interrupt them when they are talking, even if you have good intentions this will make the speaker not able to express their thoughts and opinions fully and it will cause a lack of conversation. Wait for others to stop and then add your comments or anything you want to say.
Ask questions:
When the speaker feels that you are interested in their communication then it will provide you better opportunities to ask any questions you want to. They will be happy to answer it too. When you are actively interested in the lives of others, they will definitely return the favor.
When you ask questions it shows that you were listening to them with interest and the speaker will be happy to answer them. When you ask a question it gives an opportunity to the speaker to elaborate the topic and help in the smooth flowing of conversation.
Practice empathetic listening:
When you listen to someone’s story, do not just hear it try to listen from your eyes and heart too. Do not try to judge them while listening even if you do not agree with them, try to understand them. Put yourself in their place and then take the decision if they are right or wrong.
This is the problem of the modern generation, people listen to reply. So, it is important for you to listen carefully so that you can understand them in better ways.