RESPOND TO THIS
The value of being inclusive, inviting individuals from all backgrounds, and utilizing the abilities of a diverse staff is something that successful businesses understand. Since the world’s demographics are constantly shifting, most CEOs’ top priorities right now include appreciating and managing diversity and creating an inclusive workplace. For this to occur, a two-way communication is quintessential, as mentioned by de Janasz et al. (2021). Effective communication is a dynamic, ever-evolving process. When everyone has the chance to speak and listen, when everyone has the chance to examine their impressions of what they are hearing, and when verbal and nonverbal communication rules are observed, communication is improved. According to de Janasz et al. (2021), a crucial part of communication is listening, which involves more than just hearing what is being said, but also inferring meaning from the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal cues. Since a message involves verbal and nonverbal communication, in order to receive and fully understand the full message, one must “listen” with our “ears, eyes, and heart” (de Janasz et al., 2021, pg. 124). One must always remember that hearing is not the same as listening.
Furthermore, after evaluating and calculating each statement in Mind Tools’ article, I scored a 42, which falls in the 30 – 49 range. This result suggests that although my listening abilities may use some work, they are still adequate. Some of the tips I should pay closer attention to are empathetic listening. One of the recommendations to achieve this is to develop my abilities to detect body language and tone in others so that I can spot “hidden” nonverbal cues (MTCT, How Good Are Your Listening Skills?: Understanding Someone’s Entire Message). Another thing I must improve on is to avoid interjecting or being sidetracked often by my own thoughts, rather respond after the person has finished expressing her entire point. Besides getting distracted with my own thoughts, when I have a question or idea, for instance, I immediately have the urge to say it before forgetting it. It has happened that I try to control that by waiting, but I still end up forgetting what was the idea, question or comment.
Thus, something I will take with me to try to implement is the 70/30 Principle de Janasz describes that “active listening is when listeners spend almost 70 % of their time listening and less than 30% of their time talking” (de Janasz et al., 2021, pg. 125). This is helpful when communicating whether it is at the personal or professional level. One of the successful strategies for managing organizational diversity effectively is to listen proactively in order to set clear communication of diversity objectives and expectations with individuals, including staff.
Word Count: 447
References:
De Janasz, S., Dowd, K., & Schneider, B. (2021). Interpersonal skills in organizations (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). How Good Are Your Listening Skills?: Understanding Someone’s Entire Message. MindTools. https://www.mindtools.com/ai4ff5e/how-good-are-your-listening-skills