How to Get People to Listen to You | The Harvard Business Review Guide

Being heard at work has less to do with volume than strategy. And in the workplace, it'll have a huge impact on whether you’re seen as competent, get credit for the work you do, and are able to get your job done. Here are a bunch of practical tips to improve your chances of being heard at work without having to yell.

00:00 You don’t have to shout!
00:44 First, you need to listen
01:17 Lay the groundwork
02:33 Pay attention to your words
03:22 Dealing with heated situations
05:30 Change the tenor of the conversation
06:55 Watch body language
08:55 Side note for managers
009:41 Conclusion
Produced by Amy Gallo, Jessica Gidal, and Scott LaPierre
Video by Elie Honein
Design by Alex Belser, and Karen Player

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[praveenrohankar]

Key Takeaways -
1. Active & engaged listening is the prerequisite
2. Lay the groundwork -
a. Call for attention - Put critical ideas in writing
b. Build a relationship, if possible
3. Pay attention to words
a. Get to the point with only the required context.
b. Simple.Clear.Direct.Neutral choice of words
c. Start sentences with I rather than You, to avoid pointing
d. Use And instead of But
e. Use hypotheticals if required
4. Repeat the critical message
5. Change the tenor of the
a. Take a step back to calm down things
b. Focus on the process rather than You vs Me
6. Body language - CENTER method

[jamesmichaelwalker]

Thx for focusing on this topic!
I. Ten Top Soft Skills are now helping companies improve their performance and the wellbeing of their employees:
1. Listening.
2. Communication.
3. Delegation.
4. Trustworthy.
5. Critical Thinking.
6. Problem-solving.
8. Motivation.
9. Discipline Management.
10. Time management.
II. Leaders also need to avoid the DICTATOR-BY DEFAULT SYNDROM. In other words, everyone needs to be involved in the decsion-making process. Their view needs to be considered so that when the time of implementation will come they will all be fully engaged.
III. Leaders don't need to fear conflict. They need to be able to transform AND INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT INTO CONSTRUCTIVE-COGNITIVE CONFLICT.
IV. Leaders need to be ready to make HARD-AND-FAST DECISIONS mainly in a complex context. To do so, they need to be aware of what DESICION SPIN IS AND FIX IT.

[EcomCarl]

These tips are gold for anyone navigating the dynamics of workplace communication. Mastering the art of being heard without raising your voice can truly elevate your professional presence and effectiveness. 🗣

[michael-ovmt]

Excellent video. Obviously not everyone at Harvard has taken this lesson to heart. Thank you for this. Once again, very helpful

[jasonmiller]

Stunning insights and guidance. Thank you for this video!

[narcissistwhisperer]

The first test is to see if someone is actually open to listening. Without that, none of this will make a difference.

[lauripotter]

This was very interesting both as a teacher and a spouse. (Talk about communicating to a less than receptive audience!) I especially appreciate the advice for administrators.

[selinov]

This seems like great general advice, AND sometimes, it's okay to show emotions at work. Sometimes, you can control your anger AND let it help motivate your team toward a goal. As a male in Western culture, I'm often encouraged to "be myself" or "take control, " while my female counterparts are encouraged to follow all the guidelines in this video.

While I find this advice worthwhile, I also understand that there's a time and a place for everything.

[rontonkin]

Nicely done. Good to see something so practical presented in such a grounded, level-headed way, I heard you!

[sarvarbekrakhmatillaev]

Very intersting and profitly video. HBR good job and thanks for sharing good feedbacks

[niteshmishra]

I am from India and watching videos from your YouTube channel helps me improve my learning skills. Thanks alot Harvard Business School.

[mannesudharshan]

Great presentation, the advices are so beneficial to enhance communication skills and implement at work place with effective strategy. Thanks for providing us such a precious content.

[dereckcesser]

Liked it, very useful and probably requires practice 😉 what stroke me (which is probably part of effective/active listening) is how you end up asking open ended questions in many scenarios. So, can we say "in doubt ask questions"? 😄 thanks for the tips

[tariqz]

Excellent. Full of useful information in a very concised video. Is she just a presenter or also author of this video? I think if all the videos of the YouTube on selfhelp and related topic will be rated it will definitely be among the top 100. At least 20, 000 videos I have watched so far

[bobleonard]

Useful. well presented, HBR view of common sense. I was looking for tips for general conversation. I know what gets attention in the business world. Conversations that could impact an employees salary or standing. Maybe add what food is being brought in for a lunch meeting, depends on how good the food is.

[prasannakumar]

00:03 Effective communication at work requires active listening.
01:18 Increase chances of being heard
02:34 Be concise and choose your words wisely.
03:59 Effective Communication Techniques
05:16 Repetition and adjusting conversation tone are key to getting people to listen.
06:27 Improve communication and body language for effective conversations
07:38 Body language plays a crucial role in effective communication.
08:58 Listen to all employees and be aware of biases

[Geneva-gc]

Very helpful and practical advice. Please correct the spelling of communicate in the slide on CENTER.

[TomMarcotte]

Aren’t some of these suggestions a little bit on the passive aggressive side?

[mainuddeenkhazi]

Nice content and an up to the point presentation.
I have to say a very poor script, in the beginning of the video it is recommended to not to use “But” and instead use “And”, even then “But” has been used a lot of times in the video. You can’t teach something what you are not following.

[wghost]

Guess what! I've tried that and it just didn't work, perhaps it all depends on who you're dealing with after all!