We will be covering active listening, which is where you pay attention to what the other person is saying, which means you are more likely to remember more of the conversation. Examples of this include:
- Emotional intelligence (which is the ability to evaluate, perceive and control your emotions)
- Validation (which is where you acknowledge (but not necessarily agreeing with or repeating what the client has told you) the client’s emotions, beliefs, values, thoughts and experiences)
- Courtesy (which is where you behave with respect or manners)
- Problem Sensitivity (which is the ability to recognise a problem or the probability for a problem, not solving the problem)
- Professionalism (which are the qualities that make up a professional person or profession)
- Nonverbal Communication (which consists of cues (such as body language) that don’t use spoken or written words to send information or emotions)
- Integrity (which is where you stick to a code of moral values)
- Humility (which is you have no pride or arrogance)
- Proactivity (which is where you anticipate potential changes, needs or problems)
- Accepting Constructive Criticism (which is feedback that is based around facts and observation and which benefits the receiver and the business)
- Creating and Managing Expectations (which are the methods used to establish goals and boundaries based around working with others)
- Confidence (which is where you feel certain in your actions)
- Empathy (which is where you understand and are sensitive to the experience of others without having had that experience yourself)
- Compassion (which is where you are aware of others’ problem and want to solve their problems)
- Observation (which is where you recognise and note down occurrences and facts)
- Understanding (which is the ability to comprehend information)
- Attention to Detail (which is where you complete work with consistency, accuracy and thoroughness)
- Vocal Tone (which is how you sound when you speak)
- Interpretation (which is where you adapt something to match your understanding of it)
- Self-Awareness (which is the ability yourself, your emotions and your actions through introspection and reflection)
- Situational Awareness (which is building awareness of the situation and potential risks, based around information from the environment)
- Understanding the hidden needs of others (which are issues that the client has, but hasn’t fixed yet)
- Collaboration (which is where you work with others on a task, such as alliances (which are agreements between two or more business to join forces to reach a goal or series of goals), portfolios (which are collections of assets including cash equivalents, cash, commodities, bonds and stocks), business ecosystems (which are businesses that take part in delivering a particular service or product via cooperation and competition) and innovation networks (which are groups of businesses that share Research and Development goals to do with business models, processes, services and products))
Conclusion
We have covered active listening skills including emotional intelligence, validation, courtesy, problem sensitivity, professionalism, nonverbal communication, integrity, humility, proactivity, accepting constructive criticism, creating and managing expectations, confidence, empathy, compassion, observation, understanding, attention to detail, vocal tone, interpretation, self-awareness, understanding the hidden needs of others and collaboration.