Listening is often viewed as the most critical communication skill. Effective listening leads to understanding. Ineffective listening can lead to costly misunderstandings and a communication breakdown.
\nRestaurant managers have many people competing for their attention, often in rapid-fire succession. It\u2019s critical for them to master the art of active listening\u2014fully concentrating on what\u2019s being communicated so you can grasp the important points and respond appropriately.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n
Look at the speaker.<\/strong> It keeps your ears pointed in the right direction. Don\u2019t Interrupt.<\/strong> Don\u2019t try to finish someone\u2019s thought\u2014people often have to pause to collect their thoughts before proceeding.<\/p>\n Nod.<\/strong> Nodding doesn\u2019t mean agreement; it tells speakers they have the floor and may proceed. Open your mind.<\/strong> Really think about what the speaker is saying before formulating a mental response.\u00a0 Listen for emphasis. <\/strong>Learn to recognize the main points. Some people convey this with gestures, by speaking louder, or by going soft.<\/p>\n Listen for ideas. <\/strong>Even the most ineffective speakers can deliver nuggets of truth and key learning issues. Repeat the message.<\/strong> Paraphrase and restate the speaker\u2019s message back to convey that you heard and understood. It also helps you remember it better.<\/p>\n The bottom line? If people think you\u2019re a poor listener, they\u2019ll stop presenting their ideas and concerns to you. That can be disastrous for your business. It will lower morale, reduce workplace innovation, and send dissatisfied customers straight to your competitors without even giving you the chance to correct a problem. Plenty of managers complain that employees \u201cjust don\u2019t listen.\u201d That\u2019s not a restaurant-specific problem. One of my favorite listening stories involves an NBA coach who felt his players weren\u2019t very good listeners. After outlining a series of basketball plays, he offered $50 to any player who could repeat the lesson back. All were eager to claim the prize, but only one came even close. The coach paid up\u2014and immediately set to work on improving both his presentations and his players\u2019 listening skills.<\/p>\n That\u2019s my advice to managers, in that order. First, work on your message delivery. Become a more effective speaker\u2014lose the verbal tics, stress main points, use nonverbal cues. Also consider these techniques to help employees listen better and retain more:<\/p>\n Vary the medium.<\/strong> Add a visual element to your spoken presentations\u2014people are more likely to absorb and retain information that they see as well as hear.<\/p>\n Repeat, repeat, repeat.<\/strong> Repetition is critical to communicating critical information. The more important the message, the more times it needs to go out. Follow up your conversations\u2014both formal and informal\u2014with an email restating the key points.<\/p>\n Mix good with bad. <\/strong>Employees will tune out if you\u2019re constantly criticizing or imparting negative news. Mix something positive into every message.<\/p>\n Train employees to listen.<\/strong> Employees need to be taught how to listen to customers. Use the behaviors listed above as a starting point for your listening-training program. Employees who listen well to customers will listen well to you.<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t be afraid to provide a listening incentive. Fifty dollars was all it took to motivate millionaire basketball players; you can accomplish a lot with much less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Listening is often viewed as the most critical communication skill. Effective listening leads to understanding. Ineffective listening can lead to costly misunderstandings and a communication breakdown. Restaurant managers have many people competing for their attention, often in rapid-fire succession. It\u2019s critical for them to master the art of active listening\u2014fully concentrating on what\u2019s being communicated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBe quiet. You can\u2019t listen while you\u2019re talking. Avoid \u201ctalking over\u201d anyone\u2014that tells the other person you care more about your perspective than theirs.<\/p>\n
\nJust listen. Anything else, whether it\u2019s turning to look at someone walking by or checking your smartphone, says you\u2019ve disconnected.<\/p>\n
\nFocus on the message, not the delivery. It\u2019s easy to get distracted by communication idiosyncrasies. Don\u2019t mentally criticize the speaker\u2019s style. Listen for the message.<\/p>\n
\nWatch for nonverbal cues. Speakers often use their eyes, hands, and body movements to drive home points.<\/p>\n
\nWe all think we\u2019re good listeners. But how do you really know if you listen effectively? Ask the people in your life. Ask them to be completely honest. (Prepare for a possible ego bruising.) If they don\u2019t rate your listening as highly as you do, consider which behaviors(s) you need to work on.<\/p>\nGetting employees to listen<\/h3>\n