{"id":640,"date":"2019-09-29T14:09:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T06:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/?p=640"},"modified":"2021-11-08T16:53:32","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T08:53:32","slug":"listening-is-a-skill-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/2019\/09\/listening-is-a-skill-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening is a Skill (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time : <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><h3 class=\"h2\">Interviewing is an Art, but Listening is a Skill. To gain a better understanding of interlocutor requires more than just interviewing prospects. Hearing what they have to say and acting upon what they tell you are important elements that are often lost in the process. It all comes back to listening &#8230;<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nothing is more important to a marketer and a copywriter than empathy. <em><strong>Without<\/strong> <\/em>a thorough <em><strong>understanding<\/strong> <\/em>of the target audience, your chances are slim when it comes to making a <em><strong>connection<\/strong> <\/em>with prospects. It is adamant and must make the &#8220;top&#8221; of your proiorities when attempting to create a win\/win relation when establishing a connection. Whether it is &#8220;human&#8221; or &#8220;digital&#8221;\u00a0 ; a protocol must be respected for good understanding of each other&#8230;. <strong>You<\/strong> will have to <em><strong>define<\/strong> <\/em>this <em><strong>protocol<\/strong><\/em>&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-699\" src=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"776\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bigstockphoto_businesswoman_presenting_repor_314771-1040x693.jpg 1040w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 776px) 100vw, 776px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the best ways to draw the interlocutor closer is through interviewing. But we\u2019re not talking your typical, microphone-in-the-face meeting where you rattle off a list of questions and the interviewee gives you &#8220;lip-service responses&#8221;. Forget the made-for-TV sound bites. You\u2019re seeking thoughtful, revealing answers that help you paint a picture of who your prospect truly is. And that requires you go much deeper than Q and A.<br \/>\nA skilled interviewer is <em><strong>not<\/strong><\/em> an expert questioner, but a great and better <em><strong>listener<\/strong><\/em>. Communication is a two-way street, yet sales and marketing tend to be mostly about presentations and one-sided speeches.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-835 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/c2fe4196db0aad9da286586446cc9124.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"509\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/c2fe4196db0aad9da286586446cc9124.jpg 509w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/c2fe4196db0aad9da286586446cc9124-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/c2fe4196db0aad9da286586446cc9124-370x246.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That tends to be a turnoff, not just in sales and marketing, but in all relationships. Think of all the times you were excited to meet someone, only to come away disappointed. &#8220;All they did was talk about themselves,&#8221; you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Promoting your product or service may bring attention, but it does little to advance your understanding of those to whom you\u2019re marketing. Make it interactive. The ability to listen to your prospects think out loud \u2013 and for you to actually hear and act on what they have to say &#8212; gives you a competitive marketing edge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From the perspective of your prospect, it\u2019s the difference between making them feel &#8220;sold to&#8221; vs. making them want to buy from you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lending an ear and identifying with your prospects could provide answers that were unrelated to your original questions. That\u2019s a potential boon to your marketing efforts. Understanding the unique views of your prospects gives you a better grasp of what they want.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Your prospects and customers will gladly speak their minds \u2013 if you give them a chance. Because they want to be understood. And you\u2019ll want to understand what they\u2019re thinking, and why. Chances are<a href=\"http:\/\/www.articlesfactory.com\/articles\/science.html\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.articlesfactory.com\/pic\/x.gif\" alt=\"Science Articles\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a>, they have a lot to say.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_202\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-202\" style=\"width: 2999px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-202\" src=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer.jpg\" alt=\"B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Lin\" width=\"2999\" height=\"1038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer.jpg 2999w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer-300x104.jpg 300w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer-768x266.jpg 768w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer-1024x354.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer-370x128.jpg 370w, https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ben-footer-1040x360.jpg 1040w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2999px) 100vw, 2999px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-202\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Lin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time : <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>Interviewing is an Art, but Listening is a Skill. To gain a better understanding of interlocutor requires more than just interviewing prospects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a class=\"myButt \" href=\"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/2019\/09\/listening-is-a-skill-part-1\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,30],"tags":[48,19,32,50,4,34,31],"class_list":["post-640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-branding","category-entreprise-strategy","tag-48","tag-benedicte","tag-entreprise-strategy","tag-etiquette","tag-gout-design","tag-protocol","tag-public-relations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions\/836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goutanddesign.com\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}