Check out this podcast; an interview with me about listening and innovation (entitled The Listening Revolutionary).
The whole thing is 25 minutes, but honestly, I haven’t listened to it beyond the first 30 seconds - I start hearing stuff I said that I wish had said differently, or better, or not at all, but the conversation felt good while it was happening, so I’m going to trust that what’s up there now is reasonably interesting and hopefully worth your time.
2 comments so far
I interviewed Steve for this podcast and I, for one, thought his comments/insights were excellent. Granted, I’m biased, but as I did listen to it about five times (editing, etc.) I can speak more authoritatively than most. Thanks, Steve! JCH
Steve, you are definitely right on the mark in regard to listening. Active listening is an aquired habit and one that is well worth the effort. Although I have not previously thought about listening in this particular context, one can recognise that the benefits of listening in a participatory and active manner will benefit clients /customers in tangible ways. Just the feeling that one is being listened to is often something of a surprise and clearly this should not be the case. Especially so for client designer relationships. This is probably the cause of many problems in understanding what design is and how and what it may contribute to a given situation. It is also evident that when designers do not listen to their clients they may not fully understand what is being asked of them. This may seem self evident but until we actually consciously examine our own practices in dialogue/conversation we may not see what is actually transpiring. I’d say it is a good idea to monitor and be aware of one’s interpersonal communication skills on an ongoing basis.