Power Listening\" by Bernard T. Ferrari Power

¶ … Power Listening" by Bernard T. Ferrari

Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari:

The gift of silence -- the importance of keeping quiet to truly listen

We have all heard about the concept of 'power lunching' but the basic concept behind the book Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari is far simpler -- and also far more likely to promote effective work relationships. According to Ferrari, one of the critical problems in the workplace is a failure of employees to listen to one another. Ferrari suggests a variety of techniques to improve listening amongst employees, such as being reflective about the 'kind' of listener you are; respecting your conversation partner and his or her ideas; remaining silent while the other person is talking; challenging your assumptions; and keeping your focus. Listening is not something that is innate, any more than the gift of speech is: listening is a learned, socialized behavior.

One of the positive aspects of the fact that listening can be learned is that this means that even people who currently struggle with communication issues can benefit from instruction in the process. "Listening is no more a passive, innate ability than speaking is. If we can teach people to write and speak more clearly and persuasively, if we can break down the process of imparting information into discrete, learnable steps, then we can do the same with the process of receiving information" (Ferrari 4). While some people may seem to have a greater natural gift for being a good listener, this does not excuse the rest of us for failing to try to hone this skill.

Ferrari also notes the emotional issues which can interfere with listening, such as a failure to respect the other person's position or point-of-view. Particularly in the workplace, where there are innate asymmetries of power, managers may feel as if they have no obligation to listen to employees with any degree of care or consideration.

Ferrari highlights a critical issue in the process of listening, one which has been much-discussed in the academic literature, namely the difference between hearing and listening. "Some confuse hearing with listening and are not aware that in addition to receiving stimuli, listening includes a process of attending to, interpreting, and in some way responding to a message" (Froemming & Penington, "Emotional triggers"). This is why the technique of remaining silent when someone else is speaking is so important -- the fact that you are interrupting someone is an automatic 'cue' that you have not been listening to the past few words the person has been saying. A manager might assume he has 'heard' an employee merely because he has waited during the appropriate span of time when the employee has been saying words, but that is not tantamount to effective communication.

Truly listening to employees rather than merely 'hearing them out' is an essential component of creating a truly participatory management system in which employees feel their input is validated. Managers can gain important insight from employees at every level of the organization regarding customer behavior, how to improve operations to make them more efficient, or how employees perceive current changes taking place at the company. One of the greatest sources of change resistance is often the fact that employees feel that managers have kept them 'out of the loop' and have not communicated the need for change or prepared them for change. Simply by truly listening to employees and responding to their concerns, rather than letting employees 'vent' is essential. "If we listen well in business, our minds will quickly become filled with layers and layers of new ideas" (Ferrari 6). As well as being more ethical and socially astute to listen, listening can also be translated into financial value for the company and prevent the organization becoming stuck in a rut.

Of course, this is easier said than done, and there are innate emotional obstacles that can make such listening behavior challenging. Many of these are emotional rather than logistical in nature. "Internal noise becomes emotional noise when interference in the communication process is due to the listener's fear, anger, frustration or some other emotional response" (Froemming & Penington, "Emotional triggers"). It is impossible to truly listen in silence when the mind is filled with emotional 'chatter,' judging the speaker's response before it is even completed. "Triggers, also known as 'hot buttons,' may cause such a significant emotional reaction that the listener can no longer fully engage in the interaction" (Froemming & Penington, "Emotional triggers"). The most obvious examples of triggering issues are points of disagreement, but other factors can inhibit listening, such as a dislike of the person's tone or demeanor. However, Ferrari cautions the reader: "you have to get out of the way to know what is important" (Ferrari 5). If you are already judging the person based upon what they have said (or, more likely, what you think they are going to say) you are not truly listening. "You have to get out of the way of the conversation to know what is important" (Ferrari 5).

The concept of listening to the end of someone's speech seems integrally linked to the idea that entrenched assumptions can "make one deaf" (a frequent reason we interrupt) (Ferrari 5-6). These assumptions do not necessarily have to be negative or prejudiced, but merely the idea that we have 'heard it all before' and do not need to listen can be an assumption. One experimental study of listening behavior found that "addressees respond to speakers using either generic back channels (e.g., 'm-hm' or nodding) or responses that specify what the addressee has understood (e.g., opening eyes wide to show surprise). Addressees timed these specific responses to precise moments in the speaker's narrative, and they tailored their responses to that moment (e.g., wincing when the speaker described something painful)" in a manner that often seemed more 'scripted' rather than genuinely reacting to what the person was saying (Bavelas, & Gerwing, "The Listener as Addressee"). Their responses slightly anticipated the expected reaction they were supposed to give as part of a social code of expectations. When dialogue becomes formulaic, no valuable information is truly exchanged. The ability to react in a specific fashion to the actual content of what is said is the difference between being a true listener and a mere hearer.