Profile of the Month:
Personal Listening Profile

As the great sage, Yogi Berra once said, “You can see a lot, just by listening.” Centuries ago, the Chinese echoed this sentiment as the Chinese character for "listen" consists of pictures of the ear, eye, and heart. Listening effectively goes far beyond the simple act of allowing sound to vibrate the eardrum.

Good communication is one of the most valued skills in the workplace. And effective listening is basic to communicating productively inside the organization and meeting the competitive challenges outside.

Many people do not even realize that they are not fully present while they are listening. Do you ever find that you:

•  Think about what you want to say while the other person is talking?

•  Type on your computer while someone is speaking to you?

• Give directions to someone while talking on the phone to another?
• File or sort mail while engaged in conversation?
• Nod in agreement when you are unclear on what has been said?

Discover the Impact of Five Listening Approaches
It's estimated that people screen out or change the intended purpose of what they hear in over 70% of all communications! The biggest factor contributing to such miscommunication is our listening approach. Behavioral research shows that people listen with a preferred listening approach.

The Personal Listening Profile ^® helps people become active, purposeful listeners in a wide variety of situations for more productive communication.

The profile describes five listening approaches:

Appreciative: Listens in a relaxed manner, seeking enjoyment, entertainment or inspiration.

Empathic: Listens without judging, is supportive of speaker and learns from the experiences of others.

Comprehensive: Listens to organize and make sense of information by understanding relationships among ideas.

Discerning: Listens to get complete information, understand main message and determine important details.

Evaluative: Listens in order to make a decision based on information provided and may accept or reject message based on personal beliefs.

The Personal Listening Profile ^® helps people in your organization:

• Discover their natural approach to listening.
• Capitalize on their listening strengths.
• Learn how listening approaches impact listening effectiveness.
• Improve their ability to understand the purpose of different communications.
• Use listening approaches appropriate to the communication.
• Overcome listening barriers and reduce conflict.
• Enhance individual and team performance.

To receive a free Personal Listening Profile^® sample report, email Jeff Backal or call 856.596.4196.

For more information or to purchase Personal Listening Profile ^®, go to www.AssessmentTools.com