Helping your boss listen better

Helping your boss listen better

Listening is one of the critical skills for executives. Unfortunately, majority of people are not good at it. Training an executive to be a better listener is not easy. Instead of hoping that one day your boss will be improve his or her listening skills, why don't we change ourselves to help them become better listeners? In part, that means making sure our presentations get the boss's attention.

How? We have to start by answering this question: "How can I get my boss to listen to me more?" Here are some suggested tips:

1. Understand your boss's agenda.

2. Understand your boss's listening style.

3. Respect his or her time -- be well prepared.

4. Anticipate one step ahead.

5. Anticipate questions and prepare answers.

6. Rehearse out loud.

7. Keep it short and get to the point.

8. Plan for an elevator pitch.

Let's learn more about each one.

1. Understand your boss's agenda: Everyone has a unique motivation. Don't assume that your motivation is the same as your boss's. How can you learn more about your boss's agenda?

Listen to his latest speech.

Read her latest announcement, article or written document.

Understand his vision, mission and core values.

Understanding your boss's agenda will be useful in helping you anticipate what will get his or her attention.

2. Understand your boss's listening style: Each person has a unique way of listening. Some are good listeners -- they're patient, calm, and they allow you to finish your thought. The majority are impatient, rushing to reply before you're finished speaking. Many do not enjoy beating around the bush. So, prepare your talk so that it best suits your boss's listening style.

How can you find out what works? Observe by yourself. Ask her secretary. Ask your boss directly when you begin to talk: "How much time do you have?" "How do you want me to present; with more context or just the bottom line?"

3. Respect the boss's time -- be well prepared: Prepare to spend only 80% of the time that your boss allows you. If he told you in advance that you'd have 20 minutes to discuss a new project, plan for 16 minutes. If you always achieve this 80%, your boss will recognise you as a value creator not a time-waster. Because, whenever your boss meets with you he or she will gain 20% of the meeting time to do something else valuable.

The other benefit is that in the future you will get an appointment more readily than others who are time wasters.

4. Anticipate one step ahead: If you did well with topic 1 on this list, you will be able to anticipate your boss's moves. Ask yourself:

What will my boss use this information for? To whom?

How well will it be perceived?

How do I ensure that this output will be great input for my boss?

Prepare your presentation with the anticipation that some of it will also be communicated to your boss's stakeholders.

5. Anticipate questions and prepare answers: After you've finished your presentation or script, present it to a smart friend. Find someone who is good at spotting holes or weaknesses. Ask that person to identify potential questions a boss might ask. Then, develop the answers. Usually, after tough Q&A preparation, you will discover that you need to prepare more backup data.

6. Rehearse: You've done a lot of preparation including a Q&A, but don't stop there. Rehearsing out loud really helps. Here's how:

Rehearse by yourself. Do it in front of mirror. Record it and listen to it.

Rehearse with friend, mentor or coach -- face to face.

Rehearse via video conference with your mentor or coach.

Don't rehearse inside your head. It will not be natural. Rehearsing out loud will help you discover the right words, the right phrases and the right tone. Some words and phrases are good in writing but don't work when spoken.

7. Keep it short and get to the point: Ask your boss before making a presentation: "How much time do you have? I'd like to tailor my presentation accordingly." To do this properly, you may need to prepare three options beforehand; the full option, the five-minute version and the one-minute version.

If you're lucky and get to present the full version, start with a strong introduction and get to the point. Most busy bosses don't care what you did or how hard you tried. They want you to get to the point.

8. Plan for an elevator pitch: What if your boss says, "I don't have time, could you talk while we walk to the elevator?" Now it's time to present the one-minute version and give him a handout for further reading.

With the above tips, you will help your boss to be a better listener and also get more of your message across.


Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com. Daily inspirational quotations can be found on his Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCoachinth. Previous articles are archived at http://thecoach.in.th

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