You can hear your customers, but are you really listening?
Never underestimate the power of listening. In the business and corporate world, a lot of people think that talking is the best skill that you have. You can negotiate, discuss and share ideas with colleagues and surely this must be your best tool for success, right?
Sure, communicating is crucial for good interactions with other colleagues and customers. But the best skill you can possess is listening. For example, you won’t be able to perform critical tasks like negotiation without listening to the other party first.
So, what is active listening? Well, it’s just how it sounds – you’ve got to make the effort and conscious decision to listen to another person. In business this means listening to the small details, understanding the numbers or engaging with the facts.
It may sound obvious, but you’ve got to listen to obtain information. But you’d be surprised how many people rush through meetings and speaking to customers and then suddenly make mistakes because they aren’t listening and understanding what has been said.
Many of us are guilty of passive listening. This is when you’re not giving someone your full attention and where you only really hear half of the story. This is a sure way to make mistakes and start conflict later down the line.
On the other hand, active listening is key to success in any interaction. You can find out what the other person is thinking or wants from you, as well as understand how you can engage with them. Plus, active listening will earn you trust and enhance overall communication.
Why is active listening important in business? Well, in a nutshell, you can come up with better solutions when you know what the problem is. It’s not all about being heard and the loudest person in the room. In fact, what we’re saying is it’s the exact opposite.
Online learning is here to stay
Online learning is taking over and this means your employees can learn all about active listening to further their communication skills. E-learning courses are a popular way for employees to learn since they’re engaging and use popular media for relaying important information.
Plus, from a business’s point of view, online learning is more cost-effective and requires less resources to run than traditional styles of training.
It’s crucial that active listening training is engaging and interesting in order for your employees to pay attention to the techniques and tips that the e-learning courses offer.
Through online learning videos, games and quizzes, your employees are make sure they’re practicing active listening to use with clients and other colleagues. It’s going to improve your job effectiveness, as well as boost your relationship with the people around you.
Choose online learning for training
Online e-learning is the new way to learn and since we could all do with some active listening training, it’s worth the investment. In fact, active listening is important whether you work in a social working environment and face customers or not. It’s a skill that has to be worked on, which is why online learning should be used frequently. It’s going to help generally in everyday life too, so your employees will be thankful for it.
One of the best things about online learning is the freedom it offers your employees. Everyone learns differently - some people are night owls and concentrate better later on, while some employees learn best after an early rise.
But what’s more important is that you provide them with the best materials that suit their schedule and this is exactly what online learning does. It’s available 24/7, which means employees can logon and complete their training whenever they like and whenever they learn best.
What’s more, online learning can be accessed from anywhere. Whether you are on the train to work or relaxing on the couch, you can access the active listening course from your own laptop or tablet and complete your training.
Now you don’t have to sacrifice vital working hours in the office and dedicate it to training – it can be completed anytime, anywhere. But, it also means there is no excuse either!
So, why not try out some active listening courses from Go1 today? there’s lots to choose from and you can make sure that your employees are fully equipped with the skills they need to make your business successful.
It’s about time you jumped on board the online learning wagon. Active listening is one of the most important communicative skills you can have – so why wouldn’t you want to train your employees to do it?
Investing in quality training materials always pays off. With e-learning courses, it’s all there literally in the touch of a button. You can leave your employees to it and allow them to progress their skills in their own time and at their own pace.
So, what are you waiting for? It’s never been easier now with online learning to learn all about active listening, which means you can get started today and introduce training to your team tomorrow.
Get started today, with Go1 Premium
