Technology Will Not Make You a Better Listener

• 00:04 A word about technology.
• 00:06 I love technology.
• 00:07 I'm using video cameras, lights, microphones.
• 00:10 I love technology, I use it all the time.
• 00:13 But sometimes technology can actually decrease
• 00:17 your ability to listen effectively.
• 00:22 Two main ways it can get in your way.
• 00:24 Number one if you just say well I don't have to listen that carefully,
• 00:28 I'm going to hit the memo record function on my phone and I'll have it all.
• 00:32 What happens then is you become much more passive because you kind of
• 00:37 let yourself off the hook.
• 00:39 You're recording everything, and you have the ability to go back and
• 00:43 listen and relisten to it anytime.
• 00:46 Here's the catch, when are you going to have time to do that?
• 00:51 I understand there are some college students who may do that because they've
• 00:55 sent a friend to the class, they want to sleep in,
• 00:57 they actually will listen to it before the exam.
• 01:00 But for most people in the business world, in the workplace,
• 01:04 there are too many other things going on.
• 01:07 So when you hit the record memo it, whether you realize it or
• 01:12 not, it's allowing you to kind of slack off, don't do that.
• 01:18 There are exceptions, of course.
• 01:19 If you are a journalist and you're interviewing someone on the record and
• 01:23 they might contend that you misquoted them, sure.
• 01:27 Recording is a helpful device, but that's not what most of you are doing.
• 01:33 So I would not advocate that you arbitrarily record every meeting.
• 01:39 Now the second way that technology seems like it would help people but
• 01:44 really doesn't, is when you're trying to type everything someone says.
• 01:50 When you turn yourself into a stenographer you basically are allowing your
• 01:56 brain to just get into a mechanical mode and you're no longer actively thinking,
• 02:02 actively processing, you're just figuring out how to type this quickly.
• 02:08 All the research shows that if you're typing the whole time and
• 02:13 trying to get every word, you actually understand less and
• 02:17 retain less than someone who's just trying to take notes.
• 02:23 I recommend you still use a good old fashioned pen, paper,
• 02:27 or a pencil, and take notes.
• 02:29 If you don't want to do that, that's okay.
• 02:32 But when you're listening do not try to capture every single word
• 02:36 the person's saying, don't even try to capture most of it.
• 02:40 You've got to really listen actively for the biggest insights,
• 02:44 the key things to take away, the key things to remember.
• 02:48 Most of the time, you need to be looking up.
• 02:52 Even if you're really good at typing without looking,
• 02:54 you need to be looking up and listening.
• 02:56 It's actually very hard to listen and type at the same time and
• 03:00 give 100% of your attention to the person speaking.
• 03:05 So I do not recommend that you type and try to record everything word for word.
• 03:11 It seems like it would help, it really doesn't.

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