Listen Up!…Sharpening Listening Skills Builds Positive Online Reputations
I’ve noticed that people who leave negative ratings online do so because they feel that not only did they not get what they expected, but they often feel that they aren’t being listened to.
I can attest to those kinds of feelings when I’ve personally run across customer service people that don’t take the time to fully understand my problem, or worse, they don’t seem to really care.
Many times this gets back to the customer service person developing good listening skills. Listening skills can result in an upset customer changing a “…if I could give this business 0 stars, I would have” review, to a much more positive one.
Here’s a TED video by Julian Treasure that adds a lot of perspective to the challenge of effective listening and developing those skills:
Test Your Listening Skills
I agree with Julian’s premise that we’re losing our listening ability. The smartphone, social media platforms, and the tribalization of our culture are some of the main causes. But the dilemma is that listening skills are critically important when it comes to serving customers, clients, and patients. Every employee, manager, and business owner will benefit from becoming a skilled listener.
Here’s a simple self-assessment I’ve used to highlight strengths and weaknesses in listening styles for managers and employees. Just note or circle the answers to each statement and add them up.
Does it give you something to work on? Do you think that improvements in these areas can help build a positive reputation?
The most important thing, in my opinion, is to always show that you care. If the listener doesn’t care, it doesn’t matter how many listening skills they have. The customer won’t buy it.
What are your ideas and thoughts?
