MDP102 - Listening to Influence: Getting More Out of Conversations
Back | Print

Course description
The ability to listen is critically important for your success. But few know how to really listen - to focus, receive, respond to, retain and retrieve vital information. Now get more benefit - and less frustration and disappointment - from business interactions. Learn to bar distraction, increase response and feedback, and remain fully "present." This hands-on workshop takes you beyond listening's importance, nature and understanding- function to develop its INFLUENCE-potential to motivate others to more authentically communicate themselves - thus creating more efficient and productive dialogue.

Who should attend
Managers, supervisors, salespeople, and indiviual contributors who want to sharpen listening awareness- and develop focusing and responding skills - to maximize conversational value and optimize relationships for the greatest productivity and profit.

Prerequisites
Students will be required to fill out a Pre-Course Questionnaire prior to the start of the course; details will be included in the student's final confirmation email.
Please come ready to converse with one other member of the class for 1-2 minutes about a job-related or personal issue or concern.

What you will achieve

• Awareness of your responsibilities and opportunities as a listener


• The ability to bar distraction and stay focused


• The know-how to keep the conversation flowing by avoiding common listening pitfalls


• A simple framework for creating and increasing rapport


• A greater appreciation of the influential role feedback plays in conversation


• An understanding of the total listening experience and your role in it.

What you will learn

• Understanding the Nature of Listening - how, contrary to traditional thinking, it is more productive to think of listening as a dynamic, two-fold process of concentration and collaboration


• Keeping Concentration Intact - how certain positive attitudes and behaviors (containment tools) can keep our mind from wandering


• Refocusing Attention - why listener reaction, response and feedback (convergence techniques) help regain focus and connection with the speaker


• Becoming a More Patient Listener - what steps one can take to feel less pressured in the listener role


• Strengthening Relationships Through Fuller Listening Disclosure - how letting our listening show can establish and increase rapport


• Creative Ways to Boost Retention and Recall Ability - practical tips to improve mental storage and retrieval of vital information


• Ensuring Peak Performance Long-term - ways to practice and sharpen your listening skills.