During our team building scavenger hunts, we ask each team to come up with a team name. At the end of the hunt, we refer to teams by the name they chose. Recently, one of the teams called themselves “Dang it, You Never Listen to Me!” Everyone participating starting laughing, anyone who has worked as a team can relate to 
this at some point. Listening is such an important part of teamwork and more difficult than most of us want to admit.
Nearly all of us are guilty of talking far more than we listen, however listening is more important than speaking.
Stephen Covey, author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states “seek first to understand.” Mr. Covey states that most people do not listen with the intent to understand, but rather with the intent to reply and be understood.
So how do we become better listeners and improve our team?
Listen with attention, don’t pretend and let your mind wander
Be open to new ideas, (think out of the box)
Don’t let our own interests, agendas etc get in the way of truly listening to a colleague
Listen to their entire thought or idea before you form your reply
Listen actively, not passively, maintain good eye contact. Communication experts estimate that only 10% of our communication is represented by words, 30% is represented by our sounds and 60% by our body language. (Can’t you usually tell when someone is not listening?)
Ask leading questions to increase your understanding.
Yes, yelling “you never listen to me” is one way to communicate, but we suggest for effective communication, begin with listening first.
All ears,
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