It is a very vital component of the communication flow , both within and outside the organization. Yet it is appalling to watch it being ignored like a puddle of water on a busy road.
Listeners should definitely provide feedback to the speaker at appropriate conjectures. It is important to the speaker to know ; whether he is reaching the audience, the way he intended to or not.
The “Are-they-getting-it” mentality of the speaker –results in him repeating the same idea over and over again; thoroughly boring his audience. After this the listener too is distracted and the whole process crumbles down like a pack of cards.
If only feedback was provided at the right intervals ; the speaker can get over one point and move on to the other fluidly ; relieved and overjoyed , like the delight you experience when the download of your movie finishes and just before you click on it.
Feedback is to be subtle and not razing. It is obvious that everyone wants to talk but no one wants to listen. As if listening was a menial activity. You and me included love to hear ourselves. (Our bathrooms can bear witness to this….) But when you are at work ; it would be advised to leave that self-appraisal part of your brain at home and carry the ones meant for persuasion and rationality.
If you are the speaker ; you may notice the small pointers to recognize that people are in the sanctuary of their dreams instead of your oration like :
· If they fold their arms
· If they don't make direct eye contact
· If they repeatedly say the same interjection (yeah , hmmm etc)
· Try saying something ridiculous , like “Kalmadi has been awarded YOUTH ICON of the year” ; if they respond they are listening else not.
When you do ; the next time figure out ways to pull up the shutters on their sound receptors. (More of that in the next installment)