Women+ in Design PGH hosted its second 2021 virtual Happy Hour event on April 6th with an interactive session on ‘Active Listening’. In an age of endless communication opportunities, are we “Missing the Message”? Active Listening is the key to successful professional, mentorship, and personal relationships. As a coach/mentor in the design industry, Megan Worbs, of New Ivy Group, facilitated this event to be interactive, thought provoking, and ear opening. You would think that listening is easy, right? Megan explained that being an active listener is a skill which takes time to learn and practice, and it is nearly impossible to excel all the time. She also provided the framework for us to practice our new enlightened skill with each other and engage in more meaningful conversations.
Here are the biggest take-aways to help us all be better active listeners:
PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE – Be engaged and give your full attention to the person you are talking to…
ASK THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS – Your questions will help to discover a deeper level of understanding...
PARAPHRASE THE CONVERSATION – To ensure that you have a full understanding of the conversation/issues, summarize the conversation out loud before you provide and advice or feedback.
With all that is going on in our lives these days, all the distraction, all the information overload, and all the stress, it is a challenge to stay focused in any conversation. Being an Active Listener and practicing this skill can be an asset in all aspects of our busy daily lives. This skill will help us in professional meetings, it will help with any coaching/mentoring that you might be doing, and of course it could help in our personal relationships with friends and family.
Wanting to hear more (pun intended)???
There are many resources available to improve the skill of Active Listening, including this article by Team Buffer. In addition, Megan showed us a very helpful step-by-step graphic in her presentation entitled “Missing the Message” that can guide your approach and make you a more successful Active Listener.
Other Resources to Explore:
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Ayal
You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection by Ximena Vengoechea
Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
[As with all books recommended by us and our friends, we strongly encourage you to find alternatives to the big, bad tech giants who are eating us all. Check out the Carnegie Library which has a ton of electronic resources, White Whale Bookstore in Bloomfield, or Bookshop.org ]
Many Thanks to Megan Worbs for leading us through this session! Check out her website New Ivy Group if you are interested in learning more about improving your skills as an Active Listener and coach/mentor.
Thank you all for joining this useful and interactive Happy Hour session. We look forward to our next inspiring Happy Hour on May 4th where we'll explore the challenges of achieving Work/Life Balance. As always, the planning team welcomes your thoughts, feedback, ideas for future sessions, and continued participation.
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