As Chief Listening Officer for my marketing company, my job is to pay attention. I don’t like to be busy taking notes during important meetings and trying to summarize action items or next steps. I want to practice what I call aggressive listening. But, like most of us, it is hard to hear what people intend when you are absorbing new information.
With permission, I like to use the memo recording device on my iPhone to record the conversation. It helps me achieve three essential things:
- I can listen with a more critical ear when I’m not in the middle of managing a meeting. I’ll get a much clearer perspective on what was said when I hear it a second time.
- Note taking and summarizing a meeting is far more comfortable in the quiet of my office versus the noisy meeting environment. I’ll see themes and get better clarity about what the real challenge is for the team. The top problems emerge when I can listen with greater precision.
- Often, I can replay a section a few times to make sure I understand the intent of the speaker. You can’t do that in real life. Just like watching a movie when you missed an essential part of the dialogue, listening again to a conversation can bring crucial ideas to the forefront.
During a marketing innovation discussion, I facilitated with a new client last week, I replayed the conversation back and could memorialize in writing what I heard and my key takeaways. The recording allowed me to participate in the meeting as a listener, not the facilitator.
There were several critical points made by one of the more senior leaders and when I replayed that section of the recording, I could hear in his voice the strain and stress around the issue. It was as if I missed the angst the first time around because I was busy trying to pick up the content.
Who Summarizes the Meeting?
I like to be the person summarizing a meeting with written notes and action items. It allows me to put forth my viewpoint and control the path forward. By having a recording, it makes summarizing much easier.
You can urge a direction and highlight what you perceive as the big takeaways. By putting your point of view in writing, you get to manage the next steps. In this particular meeting, since the topic was my area of expertise, marketing – I wanted to put forth a framework for the next steps and critical issues for consideration.
Meetings may be a necessary evil of business. Why not grab the steering wheel and drive it in the direction you think will lead the team toward success? Ask permission first – but recording an important meeting with allow you to hear what someone means, not just what they said.
Now, hit play and listen again.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
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