Types of Listening in Business

Knowing different listening technqiues can help improve your business' sales.

If you are operating a business it is essential to understand and utilize different listening skills. Different situations in businesses require different listening skills; therefore, knowing effective techniques will help gain respect amongst your colleagues and improve customer relations to advance sales.

Active Listening

Active listening requires listeners to talk less and listen more.

Active listening occurs when both parties are present in a conversation and are hearing each other. This type of communication requires the listener to maintain eye contact and be present in what the speaker is saying. Oftentimes during a conversation, both parties are not fully present in what the other person is saying, as they typically are formulating a response. Active listening is a "two-way street" and allows for minimal listening error.

Reflecting

Reflecting is a form of listening that allows the speaker to be heard by the listener repeating back exactly what he actually heard. This form of listening allows feelings, thoughts and emotions to reflect back on the speaker, which in turn ensures that there are no errors within the communication.

This type of listening is ideal for businesses that work with the public, such as sales and customer service representatives. Reflecting allows employees to ensure that they are selling or providing a service to their customers that they actually want, while being able to upsell other helpful products.

Discriminative Listening

Salesmen may use disciminative listening to ensure a customer walks away happy.

Discriminative listening is especially important for sales and customer services representatives because it allows the listener to hear any underlying tones or emotions. Employees utilizing this form of listening can discern whether a customer leaves the business happy or upset; therefore, using discriminative listening can save sales and increase revenues for upselling techniques.

Discriminative thinking also focuses on reading body language. Business employees should be able to determine if a customer's body language matches his language to discern any inconsistencies.

Evaluative Listening

Evaluative listening is also called critical listening and is important for managers or business owners. When using this skill, the listener has to make judgments regarding the information he is hearing and weigh out pros and cons of the situation. Managers and business owners will utilize this technique when having to make quick decisions and determining whether an option is viable or not.

References

• University of Colorado: Active Listening
• Air University: Listening Effectively
• Dr. Marcus Bowles: Evaluative Listening