MSLD 632 Module 6- The High Cost of Conflict

As a former student, I’ve had many instances where my advisors did not fully listen and jumped straight into conclusions. While many of them had minutes before lecturing a class, most of them picked up keywords in my explanation and assumed the situation. Personally, I thought that such behavior is unprofessional and a bit uncaring.

Due to my personal experiences, I always try to ensure that I actively listen to my students. Listening is a very important habit since they’re not only essential in gathering information, but it also revolves around creating and maintaining relationships (Llopis, 2013). Despite my effort to actively listen, I often times have difficulties to do so: especially when responding to phone calls. Due to a hearing disability, communicating through phones and any other electronic devices has always been one of my biggest weakness. To ensure that I don’t keep people on the line for so long (since I worry that they will get mad), I have a constant habit of picking up keywords and assume what the person has said. When I make such assumptions, the person usually repeat themselves (and sometimes progressively becomes irritated) or in rare cases hang up or request to contact the campus director. The usual results I get from this habit are students losing some trust and prospective students losing interest to attend our university.

The outcome is completely different when ones take time to listen. I had a student from our online campus last year who visited my office looking clearly distraught. Noticing this, I decided to approach her with some extra caution. In addition to listening, it is also important to display appropriate body language such as eye contact, tone, and facial expressions. By utilizing this correctly, it help establish a sense of care (Somogyi, Buchko, & Buchko, 2013). For this case, the student was upset and having difficulties due to her advisor rushing things. The situation was very similar from my own experiences, so I was able to establish a strong connection with her. Throughout our conversation, I maintained eye contact and nodded to show her that I understand. As the MindToolsVideos clip stated, it’s also important to provide feedback to acknowledge that you were listening (2015). For my case, I repeated a few things she stated, and said things such as “we’ll make sure that we get this all sorted out okay?” to express my care for the student. In the end, I was not only able to resolve her issue, but we also established a strong student relationship. She trusted us for assistance and we would engage in small conversations. The best thing about this student is that she successfully graduated last year and has even recommended our campus to her friends and coworkers.

References:
Llopis, G. (2013). 6 Ways Effective Listening Can Make You A Better Leader. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/05/20/6-effective-ways-listening-can-make-you-a-better-leader/#4108c20d1756

“MindToolsVideos”. (2015). Improve Your Listening Skills with Active Listening [Video file]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2z9mdX1j4A

Somogyi, R., Buchko, A., & Buchko, K. (2013). Managing with empathy: Can you feel what I feel? Journal of Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1470425153/fulltextPDF/CE275E3C16174E05PQ/1?accountid=27203