For anyone (or any business) with a point of view, an opinion, a measure of conviction, and the means to disseminate a message listening is rarely what first comes to mind when addressing the communication process.
Client feedback initiatives and market research notwithstanding, from the instant an infant realizes what it takes to relieve the pains of hunger, our practical view of communication focuses on creating and delivering a message. We are conditioned to view charisma, wordsmithing and creative genius as the components of great communication. Result? We equate message delivery with communication.
Listening is...well, just silence. Golden, perhaps. But certainly not communicating.
(We could spend a couple of paragraphs discussing how this view has worked out thus far, but let's get to the good part.)
Here's the proposition: communication is one of those counter-intuitive disciplines that works exactly opposite of the way we think; it begins when we learn how to listen.
And the discipline of listening is what gives shape to the creative art of messaging.
Discipline and Art are not at odds when it comes to communication; rather, they are two essential halves that create the whole. For marketing professionals, this gives rise to a two-fold go-forward challenge:
- Beef up the portfolio of proactive listening tools (Social Media affords great possibilities here); and,
- Practice resisting the temptation to go straight to messaging.
Thoughts?
Posts
Excellent and poignant post. I piggybacked on your theme and added some thoughts of my own about the value of listening in a darbyDarnit blog post:
ReplyDeletehttp://darbydarnit.blogspot.com/2010/01/listening-and-asking-questions-are-key.html
Petri, thanks for the feedback. Really value your perspective...so I'm headed to your blog for a closer look at the piggy-back.
ReplyDeleteProvocative post, Eric. Think you may not only be a frustrated writer but a poet as well :-)
ReplyDeleteSeems we are indeed beefing up the proactive listening tools (social media, etc), but that also brings so much noise that it's sometimes difficult to hear the message.
I know hearing and listening are not necessarily the same, but you've got to hear before you are able to listen. The challenge, my challenge now is figuring out how to hear those voices above the din.