photo credit: peter pearson
Concrete Ears
Early in World War 2, before the invention of radar, the British isles had an interesting system devised for listening for incoming enemy aircraft. They constructed a number of huge, concrete, acoustic mirrors which focused and amplified sounds coming from a given direction. Some were bowl-shaped and over 30 feet in height, and others were shaped like an amphitheater wall, over 200 feet long.
Inside the structure, a trained listener would use a stethoscope to detect the distance and direction of incoming aircraft as far as 20 miles away. Although they were soon made obsolete by the invention of radar, they were used with success in their time.
A few of these remain in Britain today, and are now being preserved for their historical significance.
Listening Versus Hearing
To really understand your market and get to know what pain your favorite customers are suffering and what their concerns are, you and your customer service people need to be actively engaged in conversations with them. A conversation has two sides to it – talking and listening and the latter is what allows us to gain information.
The difference between hearing and listening should not be confused. The latter is a skill while the former is a physical ability. Let’s face it; every complaining customer has had a moment where they’ve asked themselves, ‘Did the business hear me?’ Well, the real question is, ‘Did the business listen?’ and that is definitely a matter of choice.
You see, hearing is an involuntary process that starts with noise, vibrations, the movement of fluid in the ears and sound sent to the brain. Simple!
Where it gets a little complicated is when the noise actually arrives at its final destination: the brain! This is where listening happens.
Listening is a voluntary act where we try to make sense out of the noise we hear. That could be your customer telling you that your product sucks or your customer service representative droning on about the latest rising complaint figures. But the worst is when a customer in a crowd is vying for your attention. In any event, hearing and listening are very different because listening requires conscious action.
Here are 12 effective listening techniques so you won’t need concrete ears.
1..Open-ended questions
Ask open-ended questions to get the customer to open up
2. Eye Contact
Face the one you are listening to, lean slightly forward and make eye contact.
3. Body Language
Let your body language show your interest and concern.
4. Listen Carefully
Listen carefully so you can understand and evaluate.
5. Read between the lines
Learn to read between the lines by listening to both verbal and nonverbal messages.
6. Don’t prepare in advance
Come prepared mentally and physically to listen. Don’t think of answers in advance
7. 1 thing at a time
You can’t talk and listen at the same time.
8. Empathy
Be empathetic. See the situation from the customer’s viewpoint. Walk in their shoes.
9. Don’t interrupt
Don’t interrupt and take notes if you’re worried about forgetting a particular point.
10. No prior expectations
Avoid setting expectations as this prejudices your opinions.
11. Listen to the unsaid
Listen to what is said and how it is said and listen for what is left unsaid.
12. Listen to everyone
Don’t let one person dominate a multiple-customer conversation.
Listening skills allow you to make sense of and understand what your customer is saying. In other words, listening skills allow you to understand what the customer is “talking about”.