How do you ask, listen and observe?

How do you ask, listen and observe?

It’s been an interesting week with the government announcing the lifting of some of the COVID restrictions. I have to admit, I’m a little anxious about it all, but I am looking forward to being able to see a few more family and friends. 

In this podcast episode, I talk about how we ask, listen and observe.

There’s nothing like having to run much of your life through a video screen to realise that you need to brush up on your asking, listening and observational skills! Can you relate? 

One of the most challenging aspects of our COVID-19 normal is that we are no longer able to connect and engage with our people in many of the same ways we have previously. There are no more face-to-face meetings. No more in-person events. No more quick conversations in the corridors or lunch-rooms or as you pass by a colleague’s desk. 

Our primary form of communication now is either over the phone or, more likely, using some sort of video-conferencing technology. Whether you are using FaceTime, Zoom, MS Teams, BlueJeans, or even Houseparty, many of our usual non-verbal communication cues are more difficult to identify, if not completely absent. 

This is why it’s even more critical that we are aware of how and when we ask questions. Whether we are truly listening, and what, and how much, we are observing of the other person or people we are connecting with. 

In this episode you will learn:

• Why we need to ask questions
• What questions we should be asking our people
• How to ask personal questions
• Why listening is important
• How to improve your listening skills
• A few things we can do to become better listeners
• Observation through a video screen – and how hard it is!! 
• The importance of observation in communication 
• Non-verbal cues – what are they? 

More than ever it’s critical that we combine observing with asking and listening. If we observe something that seems a bit off-kilter, it’s important we kindly ask why. 

What are you asking? How are you listening? And what are you observing about your people? (And, what do you think they are observing about you?!)

You can connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle.