We are a society of people who work hard at the art of persuasion. We work to persuade our customers and prospects, our co-workers, our children, and just about any one else we can get to listen to us. But we’re not too good at listening and that is a shame because opportunities come when you listen hard.

The customer will tell you about a problem they have. Solve it and you will have a long-term customer and maybe even a raving cheerleader. The prospect will tell you why they are holding back in purchasing your product. When you overcome their objection they will buy from you. The co-worker will tell you about an idea to build your widget better. If you utilize that idea you can do a better job of satisfying your customers. The child will tell you – I can tell you lots here from personal experience but this is the business section of the newspaper and anyhow, I’m not qualified to write about parenting.

Business is a constant learning experience. The best teachers are those around us, those we rely upon and those who rely upon us. But often do we actually listen to these teachers. How often do we treat conversations as learning experiences? How often do we ask questions, then probing questions for clarification? How often do we create opportunities to have these conversations, how often are we “too busy” to take the time to create these opportunities?

I’d like to challenge you this week. I’d like you to create just one listening opportunity with someone knowledgeable about an aspect of your company. Ask one question, “what can we do to improve (whatever that aspect is)” and then just listen. Perhaps ask a deeper question to better understand the issue or to clarify the message. Please do not start a debate, just listen. I think you will be impressed because the people who purchase or make or deliver your product may know much more about it than you do. They work or live with the product and they have probably thought of improvements but won’t speak unless someone listens. Create that opportunity and then… listen for a change.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com Questions? Send an email to [email protected]

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