Listening skills for supervisors - part of Williams Supervisory Training Series.

1. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
February, 2020
krt4@williams.edu
413-597-3542
Manager, Learning and Development
Office of Human Resources
Presented by Kevin R. Thomas
Supervisory Training Series
Listening Skills

2. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Name
• Department
• Supervisory experience
Introductions

3. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1) Program Overview
2) Listening Skills

4. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. Structure of the Program
2. Structure of Each Module
3. Ground Rules
Program Overview

5. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Foundational Skills
Supervising Individuals
Supervising Teams
Supervising at Williams
• Listening Skills
• Giving Effective Feedback
• Delegating Skills
• Affirming & Enabling Diversity
• Hiring & Onboarding
• Performance Development
• Dealing with Performance Problems
• Developing Employees
• Leaves, Absences & Accommodations
• Building Effective Teams
• Productive Conflict
Resolution
• Professional Ethics

6. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Confidentiality
• Participation
• Listening
• Judgement free zone
Ground Rules
Program Overview

7. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1) Program Overview
2) Listening Skills

8. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Why is listening important
for supervisors?
You Write The Slide

9. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• What behaviors indicate
good listening?
You Write the Slide

10. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

11. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

12. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Privacy
• Freedom from Distractions
• Time Limit
• Setting Ground Rules
The Listening Container
Listening Skills

13. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Confidentiality
• “I” statements
• No name calling or pejorative
language
• No interruptions
• Volume and gestures moderate
• Time outs
Setting Ground Rules
Listening Skills Listening Container

14. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

15. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Body language
- Open posture
- Eye contact
- Nodding
- Facial expressions
• Echoing words or phrases
• Verbal cues that you are
listening “Oh?”, “Mm
hmm”, “Right.” etc.
• “Is there more about
that?”
• Silence
Minimal Encouragements
Listening Skills The Listening Stance

16. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• It’s a surrender of control
• It involves inhibition:
o of what we want to say
o of what we think is right
o of what is most interesting
to us
Why Listening is Difficult

17. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
“You know how advice is.
You only want it if it agrees with what
you wanted to do anyway.”
— John Steinbeck

18. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Minimal Encouragements– your turn
• Pair up. This will be your partner for the
whole class.
• Each person think about a real problem you
are facing that you can talk about easily with
a stranger.
• For the first round, choose who will be the
speaker and who will be the listener.
• Speakers, talk about your problem for 2
minutes. Listeners, use only minimal
encouragements.
• Switch roles.

19. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

20. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Questions that encourage the
speaker to explore the whole
landscape of the topic.
• Cannot be answered “yes” or
“no”
• Beware of advice posing as a
question:
“Have you considered doing
x?”
• Examples of open-ended
questions on next page.
Open Ended Questions
Listening Skills The Listening Stance

21. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Open-ended questions – your turn
• Speakers, talk about your problem for 3
minutes. Listeners, use minimal
encouragements and open-ended
questions.
• Switch roles.

22. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

23. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Statements that
summarize what the
person has said.
• Helps the other person
know you are hearing
them.
• Follow with “Have I got
that right?”
Mirroring Statements
Listening Skills The Listening Stance

24. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Watch the video and
underline the mirroring
statements that you hear.
Mirroring statements: examples

25. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Mirroring statements – your turn
• Same partner
• Speakers, talk about your topic for 4
minutes. Listeners, use minimal
encouragements, open-ended questions,
and mirroring statements.
• Switch roles.

26. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
1. The Listening Container
2. Listening Behaviors
– Minimal encouragements
– Open-ended questions
– Mirroring statements
– Empathy questions
Listening Skills

27. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Empathy questions
Listening Skills The Listening Stance
• Sharing your guess about what
the speaker may be feeling:
“Based on what I’m hearing, I’m
guessing you’re really angry about
this.”
• Demonstrates concern and respect
for the person’s feelings.
• Follow with: “Am I right about
that?”
• Don’t be afraid to ask “How are
you feeling?”
• With sincerity, validate feelings:
“That makes sense to me.”

28. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
• Postive feelings arise
when are needs are
fulfilled
• Negative feelings arise
when needs are not
fulfilled
• Listeners can help
speakers identify their
needs and the associated
emotions
The Link Between Emotions and
Needs

29. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Empathy Questions– your turn
• Same partner
• Speakers, talk about your problem for 4
minutes. Listeners, use minimal
encouragements, open-ended questions,
mirroring statements, and empathic
questions.
• Switch roles.

30. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Listening Skills in Action
• Journalists and talk show hosts use
listening skills in public settings where they
can be studied
• Let’s watch Oprah interview James Frey.
• What listening skills were used?

31. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
“Anything that’s human is
mentionable. And what’s mentionable is much
more manageable.”
— Fred Rogers

32. Supervisory Training Series: Foundational Skills
Kevin R.Thomas, Manager, Learning & Development · Office of Human Resources · krt4@williams.edu · 413-597-3542
Links coming via email:
Contact Kevin Thomas at 413-597-3542
or email krt4@williams.edu
Supervisory Training Series
Communication & Self-Management
Questions?
• Course page link to all course materials
• Program evaluation link, feedback welcome