Listening with All Your Senses

With both verbal and nonverbal cues in play, it can be difficult to discern which are the more illuminating and accurate. According to Allene Grognet and Carol Van Duzer at the Center of Applied Linguistics, listening is the realm in which a communicator really exposes his agenda and feelings. Visual prompts have more latitude and variable meaning; everything from bad posture to a sore back is up for interpretative grabs. But vocal tone, volume, and linguistic content are often the more transparent cues of emotion and intention, and the astute influencer listens for them with a keen and empowered ear to discern what’s going on behind the curtain of the verbal message itself.

According to the researchers, workplace listening skills are three times more career-critical than speaking skills and four to five times more effective in leading to positive consequences than reading and writing skills. The reason is that more critical information is exchanged in the listening moment than what the eye perceives or the speaker consciously provides. This is valid at all levels of an organization, yet it remains one of the most off-the-map and undertrained of all communications skills.