The document discusses listening skills and their importance in customer service. It begins by distinguishing hearing from listening, noting that listening involves psychological processing of sounds. It then identifies three factors that complicate the listening process: internal elements, environmental elements, and interactional elements. Some poor listening behaviors are also outlined, such as faking attention, changing channels, and interrupting. The document provides tips for improving listening, including being patient, clarifying, and using counter-attitudinal advocacy.

1. Chapter Three
Apply Your Best Listening
Skills

2. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 2
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Calvin Coolidge said:
“No man ever listened himself out of a job.”

3. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 3
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

4. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 4
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Hearing differs from listening
 Hearing is a purely physiological activity
 Listening involves the physiological
process, but it also involves the
psychological processing of the sounds

5. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 5
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
SALES PERSON: Hi, I’m Jerry. Welcome to Cell Phone
Kingdom. How can I help you today Mr. . . . ?
The Way It Is . . . How Can I Help You?
Help Me? Try Listening!

6. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 6
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
DON’T TUNE ME OUT-
Three factors complicate the listening
process
Internal elements
Environmental elements
Interactional elements

7. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 7
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Read page 72, Looking on the Inside
And take the self test.
What was the average over all the questions
if you assign a 1 to Almost Never and a 5 to
almost always?

8. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 8
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Internal elements include
 Ability to receive the sounds produced by
another speaker
 Referents for the sounds being produced

9. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 9
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Environmental elements include
 Our individual listening capacity
(500 words per minute!)
 The presence of noise (“white noice)
 The use, or misuse, of gatekeepers (some
managers use as a buffer FROM the
public…)

10. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 10
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Interactional elements include
 Self-centeredness
 Self-protection

11. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 11
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
What was Sparky’s secret (pg. 44?)
How did she foster trust?

12. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 12
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
To be a better listener, avoid poor
listening behaviors

13. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 13
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Faking attention
 The “wide asleep listener”
 Eyes on speaker, mind elsewhere
 Automatic nodding
Commit yourself to the conversation

14. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 14
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
What is in a face?
What’s being communicated in a face?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_Action_Coding_System

15. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 15
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Changing channels
 Tuning out
 Switching between the speaker and your
own thoughts
Be patient and listen

16. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 16
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Listening only for facts
 Listen for feelings, impressions, and
emotions
 Listen for what they are not saying
 People buy based on emotions and feelings
Go beyond the facts and words

17. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 17
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Gender Difference?
Are Men from ______
and Women from _____?

18. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 18
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Interrupting/Impatience
 We want the speaker to get to the point
 We interrupt for clarification
 We want information immediately
Be patient and wait for the speaker to finish

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Paul R. Timm 19
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
To improve listening effectiveness, take
positive steps to better listening

20. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 20
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Solicit clarification
 Clarify tactfully
 Don’t figure it out on your own
 Don’t guess or interpret
 Don’t worry about sounding uninformed
Take the time and make the effort to understand

21. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 21
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Use counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA)
 Take the other person’s position
 Restate the position that is counter to your own
 Defend that position
 Ask if your interpretation is correct
 If not, try again

22. Customer Service, 5e
Paul R. Timm 22
© 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Of all the sources of information we
have when dealing with customers,
listening is the most important.