Dale Carnegie said in 1936, in his best-selling business book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” the best trick for influencing people or getting them to get along with you: just listen.
In business, the ability to listen is one of the most important, since thanks to it you can influence other people and establish relationships in a positive way. Discover everything you need about this skill applied in the workplace and in business.
Why is listening so important in the workplace?
If you want to be successful in business and in life , you need to focus less on yourself and more on other people. In other words, you should actively listen instead of thinking about what you want to say, as well as validate other people’s thoughts and emotions after they have spoken and expressed their point of view.
Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds, because when we have ideas that we want to communicate, our natural inclination is to talk about those ideas and be able to share them with others. But the less you talk about, the easier it is to persuade other people to receive those ideas and that they may end up accepting them.
The best example of the success of this strategy is a CTO named Hugh. This person is a great listener and in all the meetings he attends they do not usually realize that he is there due to his calmness and being always the last to speak. When it is his turn to speak, Hugh is able to say something that synthesizes everything that has been said and gives his point of view in a powerful way.
conclusion
There is a competitive advantage to being the last to speak. Always keep in mind that people who care more about others will have more advantages in the business world. People want to talk about themselves and their ideas. Listening and letting people speak is key to winning in life, in business and in all human relationships.
Reference
- Lebowitz, S. A CEO says this is the single most important and underrated skill in business-and in life. For Businessinsider [Revised March 2016]
