I had several situations this week that made me think…..are we truly listening to the person who is talking with us on the phone or who is talking with you right in front of you?

 

With our busy life and work we all try to multi task and sometimes we forget to focus on what is important right at this moment.

 

…..have you ever had the situation that you where talking to a person, maybe at a meeting, and they checked their phone for messages during you conversation with them and not even ten minutes later they asked a question that you had covered with them not even ten minutes ago?

 

…..or where you ever in a restaurant ordering food and the server wrote down your order but had side conversations while taking your order and as you received your order, it was not correct?

 

….or have you ever been given a message from an email or phone that someone else took for you while you were out and as you followed up with the message it was not what the messenger told you or assumed  it was?

 

Things like this happen more and more often. We trying to do too many things at once might be the culprit. The more we try to do at once the less we accomplish and create re-work for ourselves and others.

 

Here some ideas to make certain that the person you are talking with understands and has listed to you.

 

On the phone:

 

• Ask them open ended questions about what you just presented
• Ask the person to paraphrase the information what you just told them
• Find out if there are in the car talking with you, when they are, reschedule the conversation to a time when they are not driving or being driven. Cell servicer in some areas is not 100% and important parts of a conversation could be missed
• Send an email with all of the discussion points and ask them if there are any more questions about the task at hand and ask an open ended question to make certain it was understood and they have to reply.
• When they put you on hold during your phone conversation, reschedule the conversation after they return to your call.

 

When it is a face to face meeting;

 

• Ask them to please put the phone down
• Do not sit behind the desk, use a more casual conversation group

 

When it was an email message that was taken for you

 

• Ask to have the original email forwarded to you
• When something is unclear contact the original sender to clarify

 

Politeness is the art of choosing among one’s real thoughts.  ~Abel Stevens