Marketing 101 says that the sender is responsible for the receiver getting the intended message.
If the receiver gets the wrong message or misunderstands, it's because the sender failed to communicate the message properly.

However, in order for the sender to compose the message so that it will be understood, they need to practice active listening.

If you want to be a better communicator at work (and at home) here's a great article on active listening from bnet (the go-to place for management tools online.)

Why is Active Listening important?
(Well, the Ossur Affiliated Facilities fiasco comes to mind.)

Human interaction is fraught with miscommunication. Both at work and at home, it can lead to hurt feelings but at work those hurt feelings can lead to:

• lawsuits (people don't sue people who are incompetent, they sue them for not listening)
• lost income (patients, customers, clients, referrers go where they feel like they are understood)
• employee turnover (same as above)

• Patient satisfaction (fit, comfort, function)
• New product/service development or introduction
• Closing a sale
• Recruiting a new employee

• You Don't Pay Attention (You think you already know what the other person is going to say.)
  
  Active listeners make a point of concentrating on what the other person is saying, getting a full understanding of the context and reason for their communication, and withholding judgment until they are ready for a response.


• You Project Your Own Values onto Others
  
  Our values and beliefs are so deeply ingrained that it is sometimes difficult to imagine anyone feeling any different. But assuming that everyone has the same values and motivations is a common source of confusion when trying to build rapport. Active listening can help to suspend some of those assumptions, and will protect you from falling into this trap.
  
  Good example: Just because you're an amputee prosthetist or a breast cancer survivor, doesn't mean your experiences, concerns or needs will be the same as the patient you're treating. It's even more important for you to listen actively since it would be natural for you to assume you know exactly how they are feeling!

Big gold star to Tony Culver and Ed Grace of Grace Prosthetic Fabrication, Inc. for launching their monthly eSpecials newsletter this month.

Why the Gold Star?
Effective marketing requires targeting and measurement. Their monthly eSpecials are availabe to their newsletter subscribers only (target and measure)!

Just got this invitation via M-B's email newsletter (Yes, they have one too! Marketing is marketing and M-B knows how to market!) It sounds like a blast; I can't go, but maybe you'd like to. FYI - there is a fee.

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