Okay, confession time: I’m kind of a talker. I get excited about deals, about ideas, and sometimes I forget there’s another person in the room. A few months ago, this cost me. Potential investor seemed interested, then BAM! They went silent. Turns out, I’d been doing all the pitching and none of the listening.
That sucked. So, I’m taking this relationship management course everyone keeps raving about. First lesson: active listening. Sounds easy, right? Hear people out, ask questions… turns out I’m not great at it. But, I’m gonna fix that, and you guys are coming along for the ride.
What IS Active Listening, Anyway?
It’s more than just being quiet. Here’s what the course taught me:
- Body Language Matters: Nodding, eye contact, all that shows you’re engaged, not just waiting for your turn to talk.
- “Reflect Back”: Restate what you heard to make sure you got it right. (“So, you’re worried about scalability, not just funding…”)
- The Power of Follow-up Questions: Not just “Anything else?” but specifics that show you were paying attention.
My Active Listening Experiment
This week, I tried this in ALL my meetings. Here’s what happened:
- The Win: A startup founder I’d been lukewarm on – turns out her product has a niche I didn’t see. Only came out because I asked her to go deeper, not just give me the elevator pitch.
- The Awkward: Video call, kept thinking I was practicing the nod… but the client probably thought I had a weird twitch.
- The Epic Fail: Met with a potential partner, was SO focused on listening, I forgot to pitch my own value add! Seriously.
So, Did It Work?
Honestly, it’s a mixed bag. I’m definitely hearing more about the other person’s needs, which is good. But, I’m also overthinking, which messes with my natural flow. This isn’t about faking it, it’s about finding the balance.
Next week, I’m tackling a new skill. But in the meantime, you tell me: Have you tried active listening? What’s worked for you, and where do you struggle? Let’s figure this out together.
