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E-Session 6
Communication Skills: Effective Listening
Is only the usual ability to listen enough to be a call center executive? This session gives you the answer. The listening ability you are supposed to have as a call center executive is much more than only the natural listening. It is a skill that you must develop based on a clear idea about it. In this session you will know things like active listening and empathy on your way to acquiring an effective listening skill.

  Comdex Call Center Training Kit

Session
O b j e c t i v e s

In this session, you will learn about: Listening Skills of an empathetic listener Active listening Components of active listening

ListeningThe Silent Side of Communication

To understand this aspect of communication and its importance, let us go through an exercise. Think back and write down the names of three people whom you admire and who would have had the biggest impact on you. How would you describe the communication process with each of these people identified by you? Are they good communicators? Does their communication inspire you? Do you find their conversation helpful and meaningful? If you introspect youd find that in relationships wherein we know the other person well, we have a complete synchronization and communication between us which is beyond words. Does that mean that you are a good communicator or a good listener? Well, both are equally important and youd find that the people who have inspired you are those who are most powerful listeners. Regardless of whether they have developed it through instinct or practice, they have indeed developed the skill of empathy.

What is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability of an individual to look beyond self and appreciate the fact that every individual is unique and every individuals thoughts are to be respected. Characteristics of an Empathetic Person are as follows: 1. Instead of imposing his own feelings and ideas, he believes in appreciating it from others point of view. 2. Unafraid of situations and circumstances and hence he is never on the defensive. 3. Desires to listen to others viewpoints, perspectives, or experiences, rather than assuming they are the same as his own. 4. Desires to understand and listen to the other person rather than be a critic.

E-Session 6: Communication Skills: Effective Listening  

Skills of an empathetic listener An empathetic listener uses the following skills effectively: 1. Use of Verbal and Non-Verbal communication. 2. Responds to the senders message 3. Evaluates senders feelings and emotions 4. Interprets the feelings and emotions 5. Summarizes the feelings and emotions to derive the key concern area. 6. Probes to gather more information and seek clarification 7. Offers support in terms of information sharing 8. Displays warmth 9. Ascertains if his interpretation is valid and serves the purpose. 10.Gives space to ensure there is a reaction time. It is strongly believed that most of these skills, can be learnt, practiced and mastered. However, the irony of the fact is that in our society we place much more emphasis on the how good a speaker the person is. When we evaluate a person for communication we consider only the spoken side of the communication. Let us go back to those whom you admire and have strong influence on you, are they good talkers or good listeners? I am sure youd all agree that as we get to understand ourselves and our relationships with others better, we realize that communication is not just saying a few words; but is understanding others better and in that process Active listening is a skill that needs to be developed.

What is Active Listening?

One would like to define active listening as Focused Listening. What it does is that it ensures the receiver is focused on the conversation and understands the meaning of the message and reciprocates by taking care of the feelings and emotions of the speaker. The objective of active listening is to appreciate the other persons point of view, whether you agree to it or not. Let us do an exercise on active listening. The objective is to give each person the opportunity to learn how to use verbal and non-verbal communication and become a better listener. There should be two persons involved in this exercise: one, the speaker and the other, the receiver. Let us say that A is the speaker in the first instance and B the receiver. Subsequently, the roles need to be reversed.

Comdex Call Center Training Kit

Guidelines for AYou are to talk about something that is important to you: your job, your family, a decision, and your marriage. Preferably talk about something you really care for. Guidelines for BYou are to practice the skills of verbal and non-verbal communications i.e., eye contact, body language etc. You are to be a patient listener. Subsequently, the role should be interchanged and A should be the receiver and B the speaker. Now B should talk about something that is important to you: your job, your family, a decision, your marriage. Preferably talk about something he really cares for. A as a receiver, however, should demonstrate poor listening habits. He should pretend either to get involved in some other activity like tying his shoelace, picking up the telephone and talking, scribbling in a notebook etc. At the end of the exercise the two participants will share their experiences as a speaker and as a receiver. How was the feeling? Youd find that in situation 2 where A demonstrated poor listening skills would be absolutely unacceptable and would generally upset the speaker. The biggest lesson that one needs to learn from this exercise is that as you do unto others others can do unto you. If you show lack of interest in others conversation, there could be situations where you would be the speaker and would not want others to show lack of interest in what you say. Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding to the other person so that it improves mutual understanding. Benefits of Active Listening Active Listening forces people to listen attentively to others. Helps avoid misunderstanding as one seeks clarification as to whether he has got the other person right. It makes people more comfortable and gets them to speak more. To understand Active Listening easily, make sure you do the following: 1. Listen. 2. Understand 3. Evaluate and interpret Active listening is about having a constructive approach to listening, with interest and acceptance, focusing on and understanding the other persons feelings by putting yourself in his/her shoes. It is about hearing the other person out, asking questions only to clarify and allowing him to make his point, accepting and appreciating the silence and respecting the other person.

E-Session 6: Communication Skills: Effective Listening  !

Basic Attitudes for Effective Active Listening 1. Desire to hear what the other person has to say. 2. Desire to help should be genuine 3. Willingness to accept his feelings, even if they are not similar to your feelings. 4. Trust the other persons capability to handle his own feelings and find solutions to his problems. 5. Appreciate that every human being is unique and respect his identity. LISTENING PROCESS

Components of Active Listening 1. Seeking Information Gathering information by asking relevant questions by using a positive tone of voice. 2. Understanding The moment we respond we enter into the Customers world. The focus to be on building trust and relationship. To expressing awareness and emphasizing facts. 3. Restating Empathizing with the Customer Re-Confirming if his/her query has been addressed. 4. Summarizing Reviewing commitments Assuring future availability Thanking the Customer

 " Comdex Call Center Training Kit

Barriers to Active Listening

There are five barriers to effective active listening: 1. Boredom If the topic doesnt interest you or doesnt benefit you, boredom may lead to ineffective listening. 2. Environment If the environmental conditions are adverse, like a hot summer day, wherein you may dislike talking. 3. Pre-conceived ideas Ideas developed before the conversation may dilute your interest in the conversation. One of the ill effects of this is that you tend to build an idea about the result even before the conversation. 4. Fatigue Fatigue normally leads to disinterest and any discussion under fatigue will not involve active listening. 5. The urge to interrupt the Speaker and Respond If you tend to interrupt the speaker and respond before he has finished, you could miss out on his feelings; similarly, if you do not respond and allow your mind to stray away from the conversation, it would result in ineffective listening. Five Essential Listening Skills to be followed in a call center: 1. Focus 2. Be able to read ones emotional state 3. Ask questions 4. Learn to smile over the telephone 5. Build trust and respect We would now examine each skill rather closely. 1. Focus Start with an open minddont pickup lines and form opinions. Focus and listen carefully to what the speaker has to say. Dont get distracted by whats happening around you. The speakers tone and accent. The kind of words being used and the way he is behaving. Show respect to the others point of view. 2. Be able to read ones emotional state Attention on not only what is being said, but also the manner in which it is being said, should be noted.

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Listen carefully to the tonewhat does it communicate? What does the language communicate? Is there anger, frustration, sarcasm or humor? This will help you to deal with the customer accordingly. 3. Ask questions To seek information. To gather facts and rationale. Use a language that is acceptable and will help you gather data. Do not jump the gun. Assumptions are dangerous. 4. Learn to Smile over the telephone The way you communicate should express alertness, keenness, enthusiasm, high energy levels, confidence and conviction. The customer should gain confidence whilst talking to you. 5. Build trust and respect By understanding things from the customers point of view.

Review
This session introduces you to the most crucial area in the process of communication i.e., listening. It talks of empathy and active listening as two key areas of effective listening. The benefits of active listening, the attitudes required for listening, have been supplemented with the listening process. The barriers to listening and the essential skills to be followed by a call center executive have been covered. a

Exercise 3
3 0 m i n u t e s

1. How does empathy help in the listening process? 2. What are the skills of an empathetic listener? 3. What are the barriers to listening? 4. What are the listening skills that a call center executive needs to developed? 5. Make a list of atleast 5 people known to you who you believe are good listeners. List down their qualities. How do you rate yourself on these qualities on a scale of 15. 6. Draw out a plan as to how would you like to improve your listening skills?