Strategic Listening

We can communicate on one-or all-of four different levels at any given time:
1. facts,
2. meaning,
3. feelings, and
4. intention.
"The house is burning" is a simple, straight-forward statement. But those four words — depending on how they are said — may mean:
· "A residential structure is being consumed by flames." (Facts)·
"The house we're in is on fire." (Meaning)·
"Ahhhh!!!!" (Feelings)·
"Run for your life." (Intention)
Sometimes we don't understand other people, because we're not listening — or not listening well. We're distracted or simply not paying attention. But sometimes we don't understand them, because we're not hearing what they want to communicate. We're not listening to the right level.We may hear the facts, for example, but miss the feelings.It takes skill and intelligence to hear the various messages people are communicating.
Level 1 The FactsPeople want to Convey information.Our task is to Listen for details and clarify.We need to ask "Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?"Our goal is to Picture the situation as the person is describing it.
Level 2 MeaningPeople want to Make themselves understood.Our task is to Listen for the big picture; summarize and paraphrase.We need to ask "Am I understanding you correctly?" "Is this what you're getting at?"Our goal is to Understand what the person means — and make the other person feel understood.
Level 3 FeelingsPeople want to Connect on an emotional level.Our task is to Listen with empathy; pay attention to body language and tone of voice.We need to ask "How does this make you feel?""It sounds to me like you're feeling..."Our goal is to Recognize how the person is feeling — and make the other person feel connected.
Level 4 IntentionPeople want to Get their needs met.Our task is to Listen for wants and needs; focus on solutions, action steps, and outcomesWe need to ask "What do you want to have happen?""What would help you in this situation?""What can you/we do about it?"Our goal is to Know what the person wants to achieve.

Training Evaluation

One can evaluate the training effectiveness by the following important aspects:-
Indicators. This is the traditional approach to reporting training data. Some examples of indicators are number of employees trained, total training hours, training hours per employee, training investment as a percentage of payroll, cost per participant. Although these measures are necessary, they do not reflect the results of the training program. There are many types of indicators, but it is most important to include in the scorecard the measures of interest to the organization's top managers.
Level 1: REACTION. At this level, participants reactions to and satisfaction with the training program are measured. Some recommended data to capture on Level 1 instruments are:
- relevance of training to job - recommendation of training to others - importance of information received - intention to use skills/knowledge acquired Those four items have predictive validity for projecting actual applications and should be compared from one program to another.
Level 2 : LEARNING. Learning can be measured informally with self-assessments, team assessments, or facilitator assessments, or formally with objective tests, performance testing, or simulations. Learning self-assessments may ask participants to rate the following items: - understanding of the skills/knowledge acquired - ability to use the skills/knowledge acquired - confidence in the use of skills/knowledge acquired
Level 3 : BEHAVIOR APPLICATION. This level measures changes in on-the-job behavior while the training is applied or implemented. This in¬formation often is collected through a follow-up survey or questionnaire. Key questions asked concern :
- the importance of the skills/knowledge hack on the job - the frequency of use of the new skills/knowledge - the effectiveness of the skills/knowledge when applied on the job
Level 4 : BUSINESS IMPACT. At this level the actual business results of the training program are identified. A paper-based or automated follow-up questionnaire can be used to gather this data. Depending on the training programs' performance and business objectives, data may be gathered on the following:
- productivity level - quality - cost control - sales revenue - customer satisfaction
Level 5 : RETURN ON INVESTMENT. At this level the monetary benefits of the program are compared with the cost of the program. The costs of the program must be fully loaded. The methods used to convert data should be reported. The ROI calculation for a training program is identical to the ROI ratio for any other business investment:
ROI(%) = ((benefits - costs]/costs) x 100 A benefit-cost ratio may also be calculated by dividing costs into benefits.
INTANGIBLE BENEFITS. Intangible benefits are measures that are intentionally not converted to monetary values because the conversion to monetary data would be too subjective. It is important to capture and report intangible benefits of the training program, such as:
- increased job satisfaction - reduced conflicts - reduced stress - improved teamwork

Two wolves inside us

One of my uncles passed on to me a great story of a Cherokee grandfather talking to his grandson. The Grandfather explains, "There are two wolves that live within each of us. One is filled with anger, hate, lust, envy, jealousy and outrage at the injustices done to him. The other is filled with compassion, kindness, humility and understanding." The grandson asked him, "Grandfather which one is stronger?" and the Grandfather answered: "The one we feed."Wow! A message to really make us think. I suggest that we constantly ask ourselves as we go through each day, "Which inner wolf am I feeding…the destructive wolf or the loving wolf?" If we realize that it is the destructive wolf we are feeding, we owe it to ourselves and the world to do everything we can to change our thinking, our words, our actions, and beliefs to make the loving wolf gets stronger and stronger with each passing