Article Reflection

Welcome back to keeping up with Acacia!  

Sadly, this blog post isn’t about me, instead, it is going to be focused on an article dually written by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, titled “What Great Listeners Actually Do.” 

After reading all three, very well written, pieces, I chose What Great Listeners Actually Do because it was the only article that I seemed to be unexplainably interested in. Though short, the piece was very informative and very quickly proved to me that I am not a good listener, I just thought I was. 

I naturally assumed that good listeners were like sponges, they just sat (or stood) there quietly, hearing the speaker out & interjecting a “mm,” “wow” or “really?” every so often. It turns out this idea was only the tip of the iceberg. Zenger and Folkman compared great listeners to trampolines, saying that they are people you can “bounce ideas off of.” The scholars go on to say that, based on their studies, rather than merely absorbing the speaker’s ideas, good listeners seem to be people that “amplify, energize and clarify” the speaker’s thinking. Imagine my surprise, coming from a culture where speaking whiles someone else is speaking (cutting them off) is considered to be of the utmost disrespect. We were taught to wait until someone is completely finished talking before interjecting, because some way, somehow, if you didn’t, you’d be sure to miss the “essence” of what was said. However, after reading and taking the time to understand this article, I agree more with the two scholars than I do my former teachers. It follows logically to ask some questions during the listening process as opposed to after seeing that: 
1) with lengthy conversations, the listener can forget their question by the end, 
2) this is the best way that the speaker can be sure the other person is actually listening, and, 
3) it makes the conversation much more cooperative. 

The scholars grouped the results of their research into 4 main finding sand concluded that good listening:  
1) is much more than being silent whiles the speaker is talking, 
2) includes self-esteem building interactions, 
3) is considered to be more of a cooperative conversation, and, 
4) involves listeners who tend to make suggestions.  

I believed myself to be a good listener because, despite having what the article refers to as “distractions” (I.e., phones, laptops, etc.) in front of me, I would, for the most part, maintain eye contact, make subtle interjections, and I would always ask questions after whoever’s speaking was finished, even if I knew the answer. The article spoke about this and it turns out, I was, at best, a level 3 listener, which sucks because I prided myself with my ability to make my friends feel comfortable to talk to me about anything, but who wants to confide in someone they don’t consider to be a good listener? No worries, I have already begin enhancing my listening skills by asking my roommates about how their day went just to practice the four (4) main findings of the article’s study. I hope to see improvements soon. I think it will help me in the future by making more people feel comfortable enough to talk to me and might even open a few professional jobs. Nonetheless, being a good listener is always a good trait to have. 

To conclude, the article in its entirety was surely a good read. Zenger and Folkman did an amazing job ensuring that it was clear and well written. 

I’m aware that this post was well below the word count limit, but I said everything I took away and didn’t want to fill it with junk information.