We’re Learning —
Are You
Listening?
By rEBECCa riplEy and KittiE watson
Different people have different listening styles, and it can affect
how they absorb information. To maximize learning efforts,
facilitators may have to adapt to multiple listening styles.
F
ortune 500 companies waste an estimated $75 million per year in meetings, and much of the waste is due to ineffective listening, according to
several reports published by consulting company groupVision since
2010. In a six-person learning session, repeating five minutes of information could waste 30 minutes of time.
Listening is an internal process, often invisible to those who haven’t been
trained in what to notice. While learning organizations make every effort to consider different learning styles to increase engagement — auditory, visual, kinesthetic modalities or educational theorist David Kolb’s concrete experience, active
experimentation, abstract conceptualization or reflective observation — many do
not adapt to different listening styles and preferences to improve learning.
Listener styles determine how, where, when, who and what types of information a person likes to receive. When trainers and facilitators learn to identify differing preferences, they can determine the best speaking approach to use with
audience members, even when they don’t know who’s in the room, connect more
quickly with their participants and notice when they’re losing people’s attention
and adapt content or messages to re-engage those participants.
34 Chief Learning Officer • May 2014 • www.CLOmedia.com
On The Web
today’s employees want to be
asked for feedback and to be
heard. what tips do you have to
help leaders become better
listeners? Join the Chief Learning
Officer linkedin group to discuss:
tinyurl.com/leaderslisten.
Chief Learning Officer • May 2014 • www.CLOmedia.com
35
What People Like
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36 Chief Learning Officer • May 2014 • www.CLOmedia.com
T
ED
TEN
Listener preferences
influence how a person learns.
When learning leaders understand
the potential pros and cons of
each style, they can design more
effective learning events and
experiences.
NT
HOW WE LISTEN
AND LEARN
IE
FIGURE 1:
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I
R ach orie
It isn’t unusual for a person to have two or more
strong listener preference types. Forty percent of business people have dual or triple preferences. In some
cases the preferences complement each other; in others
they seem contradictory or confusing. For example, a
person with strong people- and time-oriented preferences might baffle others. He or she could seem friendly and open to conversation in some settings, and appear rushed or disinterested under pressure.
Unlike personality types and learning styles, which
tend to remain constant over time, listening preferences can change situationally. Listener behaviors are especially influenced by time pressures and relationships.
For example, if workshop participants are under ex-
•A
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ngs of oth
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olve hers.
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ove ults in o l states of oth
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speakers.
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ets blu verly onal is
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inim conc
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PR
OS
Listening preferences have been developed and reinforced over a lifetime, and we all find it easier to listen to certain people. Some individuals prefer to hear
only from experts, some want to be entertained and
some prefer to be other-centered. Most people don’t
think about changing the way they listen, yet listening
is more efficient and enjoyable when we do. There are
four distinct listener preferences:
People-oriented: Listeners identify the emotional
states of others, are attracted to personal interests and
stories and have a desire to build caring relationships.
Action-oriented: Listeners concentrate intensely
on the task at hand, have clear expectations and value focused, structured presentations with two to
three key points.
Time-oriented: Listeners are direct in how they
value time, respect the clock and encourage others to
do the same.
Content-oriented: Listeners carefully evaluate everything they hear and prefer to listen to experts and
highly credible sources.
R
-O ent o s
E
I M erc a
7 p tion
Only ienta
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Source: Innolect Inc., 2014
treme job pressure but have to attend a mandatory learning program, they are less likely to have patience for icebreakers. On the other hand, if the program is being
presented by the CEO, people are likely to stay engaged
in spite of looming deadlines. The key is to adjust the approach to listeners’ needs. By adapting messages to listeners’ cues, we hold their attention, get faster agreement and
buy-in, and build closer relationships.
Identifying listener preferences can facilitate interactions one-on-one, but interacting with groups creates
unique challenges. People tend to interpret messages
through professional filters (Figure 1).
Keep in mind that small groups and large audiences
are composed of individuals with diverse experiences, education levels, races and listener preferences. For trainers
and facilitators looking to tailor presentations to promote
listening, a good rule is to design with an action-oriented
preference in mind. While people- and content-oriented
listeners might prefer a slower approach, facilitators are
likely to keep the majority of the audience engaged if they
provide a clear purpose with two to three key points, a
well-organized structure and a pace that gets to heart of
the matter quickly (Figure 2).
After applying a strategy, look for nonverbal feedback to determine if it’s working. If an audience is not
engaged, facilitators must be prepared to adjust on the
spot. To help anticipate the different listeners’ needs,
consider the following suggestions:
Get a feel for the target audience. When possible, assess the makeup of listeners in advance. The goal
is to decide how best to help listeners tune in to what
is being said. Gain insight prior to a presentation or
meeting by asking the following questions:
• Who will attend?
• Did these people come voluntarily?
• Why are they here and what do they hope to gain?
• Which listener preferences are they most likely to have?
• Which speaker strategies should work best?
Based on projected responses, determine whether
to use a more people-, action-, content- or time-oriented delivery style. Without answers to these questions in advance, make audience assessments on the
spot or based on experience.
Use the smorgasbord approach. One reason people enjoy smorgasbords is because there is something
for everyone. Similarly, when speaking to mixed
groups, a good strategy is to provide a little taste for
each preference type. Consider the following hypothetical preparation for a key presentation:
Freida analyzes her audience carefully. She is very
familiar with the seven task force members who will
attend. The president and primary decision-maker,
Tom, is a content- and time-oriented listener. Two vice
presidents, Carmen and Ralph, are almost exclusively
action-oriented listeners. Gina, a people-oriented listener, is Tom’s executive secretary and influences his
FIGURE 2: ENGAGEMENT: THE HEART OF THE MATTER
Learning leaders have to employ alternative ways to engage and involve their audiences.
The following engagement strategies offer recommendations on how to adapt to participants’
listening preferences during presentations, workshops and meetings.
PEOPLEORIENTED
• Use stories and illustrations that contain human interest value.
• Use “We” rather than “I” in conversation; use first names.
• Use self-effacing humor or illustrations.
ACTIONORIENTED
• Keep main points to three or less.
• Keep presentation short and to the point.
• Speak at a rapid but controlled rate.
CONTENTORIENTED
• Establish personal expertise in the subject matter.
• Provide hard data when available.
• Quote credible experts.
• Use charts and graphs.
TIMEORIENTED
• Try to go under time limits when possible.
• Be ready to cut out unnecessary examples and information.
• Be sensitive to nonverbal cues indicating impatience or
desire to leave.
Source: Innolect Inc., 2014
decisions frequently. The other two members avoid
meetings, but are required to attend and vote.
She decides to focus on Tom and his secretary as
her primary target audience. With 30 minutes, she
plans to end early and leave 10 minutes for Q&A. For
Tom, she organizes her thoughts carefully, quotes credible sources and supports each point with factual, concrete information. For Gina, she uses task force member names, personal examples and nonverbally gives
Gina special attention by smiling and looking in her
direction frequently.
Target content to the primary stakeholders.
While Freida used techniques to keep all task force
members involved and alert, she was most concerned
with Tom and Gina. Strive to keep all audience members as involved as possible, but facilitators should do
their best with each situation.
Keep ideas concise. Keeping ideas succinct and to
the point is valuable for any listener preference. People usually accept longer presentations, but the best
rule of thumb is to stop talking before the audience
stops listening.
Facilitators and trainers who adapt to listener preferences can reduce the staggering costs of ineffective
listening. Combining listener engagement strategies
with existing knowledge of learner styles creates a solid
foundation to effectively engage audiences and promote knowledge retention, productivity, engagement
and change. CLO
Rebecca A. Ripley is excursion learning, sustainable
legacies lead, and Kittie W. Watson is president and
founder of Innolect Inc., a consulting firm. They can be
reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
Chief Learning Officer • May 2014 • www.CLOmedia.com
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