Do You Hear What I Hear? (Tools for Effective Listening)

As an Administrative Professional you face many challenges in your day. Keeping yourself organized and on task, and keeping those you support organized and on task can be daunting.  One of the things you may have challenges with is how your receive instructions. How your boss communicates to you his or her expectations for you can be a source of frustration for you. I have both experienced and known those who often receive fly by instructions from their executives and in my opinion those are the worse.When at all possible I encourage AP’s to ask that their bosses to submit their assignments in writing via, email or hand written notes. However it has been our experience that the vast majority of the time your receiving of the cuff and voice mail instructions. So we feel knowing how to effectively listen is a valuable skill all assistants should have.

Here are some Tips:

1. Be Present: When receiving instructions remain present in the conversation. Meaning avoid thinking about what needs to be done next. The next bullet point on your to do list. Try not to think about the thing you were just interrupted from doing and be present.  This will take some practice, seeing that in order to multi-task your mind may normally often be in several places at one time. Focus your thoughts and train them to only receive information at this time by mentally squishing any other thoughts that arise. You can practice this at home with your family and train your mind, you may even have to say to yourself focus (insert your name here) focus.
2. Make Contact: When receiving face to face instructions make eye contact with the person speaking to you.  Lift your head up from staring down at your note pad, and look into their eyes and watch their facials expressions. People often express the importance of what they are saying with their expressions or some people even jester with their hands. If your head is down you may miss these ques.  Making eye contact also helps the person you are speaking to see if you understand what they are saying.  When I conduct workshops I like to look at the faces of those in attendance to see if their eyes are glazed over or if they are really listening. If their eyes are glazed it makes me feel as though they are physically there but mentally somewhere else. If their eyes are focused on me, I believe they are listening to what I am saying.
3. Listening isn’t Speaking: If your executive is speaking on a subject you are familiar with, resist the urge to finish their sentences for them. If your executive says something that sparks a question in your mind that you need to ask, write it down and ask it later. This will give the speaker the chance to finish a complete thought, asking questions while the speaker is trying to complete a thought may cause them to lose there train of thought which can lead to frustration. In addition holding your thoughts, opinions and questions to the end shows  exactly what you heard them say and shows what things you need clarification on. If you interrupt, it can be seen as you not paying attention and that you just want to get your points across.

In order to be a stellar Administrative Professional you need to be able to swiftly and efficiently carry out the assignments you are given. In order to do this you must hear the instructions clearly in the first place. The points outlined, can be applied to effective reading as well. Whether listening or reading, be present and stay focused on the person who is speaking or the item you are reading. Make contact by giving eye contact to the person who is speaking, don’t just gloss over the email read every word. If you are receiving verbal instructions, don’t speak until the speaker has finished, let them finish their thoughts.  Developing your listening skills can help you to do the assignment right the first time around. Therefore effectively communicating with your executive can lead to a lasting career with your organization.

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