Tuesday the 13th of December
I teach a three day public seminar on interpersonal skills for technical proffesionals and one of the skills we talk about is empathetic listening. One of the ways that you show you are listening is through your facial expressions. Now I know you techies might think its corny and a little to touch feely to display your emotions but touchy feely people like me really need your smiles and frowns to feel heard. Below is the first step in my GENTLER listening reccomendations.
G-ive facial feedback
It is so easy to zone out as a listener. When, but when you do, you give a blank, open- mouthed expressio. You know that look that resembles the face of a kid after five hours of cartoons. A blank face does not help you win friends and influence people and drool is not very appealing. You have to work your abs to have toned stomach muscles, and you have to work your face to have toned empathetic skills. And contrarey two what your moma said, your face will not free that way. Showing you empathy helps the speaker share more effectively and helps you listen more effectively. So make some funny faces and listen up.
Let your facial expressions show your emotional response to their message. If they are concerned, show understanding by furrowing your brow. If they are unhappy, frown and lower your eyes. If they are mad, close and flatten out your lip like a sealed envelope... Briefly matching their facial expressions not only shows your customers that you are listening, it creates the same chemicals in your brain that body language shifts are creating in theirs and you will actually feel what they are feeling and understand them more effectively.
