While I know that listening is an important part of building any relationship in business, I am admittedly lousy at it. Unfortunately, I am either not interested in what the speaker is saying or I am focused on what I will say next. I miss a lot since this prevents me from listening to what is being said and hurts the effectiveness of any conversation.

On the Small Business Radio Show, my guest is Oscar Trimboli who is on a quest to create 100 million Deep Listeners. He is an author and host of the Apple award-winning podcast Deep Listening. He has interviewed over 100 of the most diverse workplace listeners, including air traffic controllers, deaf and foreign language interpreters, hostage negotiators, and spies as part of researching world-class listeners.

Here is what we discussed as I listened to him in this extended interview:

What’s the cost of not listening at your small business every day and how it affects the relationships with your customers, employees, and vendors?

What Oscar has learned from his research of over 10,000 workplace listeners and interviewing over 100 of the world’s most diverse listeners (and what they all have in common.).

Why we are programmed to be distracted every day and what does the research say about getting better at listening in every conversation that you have?

When it comes to listening, is there a gender difference between men and women? Does listening vary across cultures and where do Americans rank in the process?

What is Oscar’s “Four Villains of Listening”, and what can you do to deal with each of them?

What’s the difference between active listening and deep listening (and does it matter)?

What is Oscar’s “Five Levels of Listening”? (and the advantages of each)?

Listen to the entire extended interview with Oscar on The Small Business Radio Show.

Image: oscartrimboli

This article, “How Deep Listening Will Boost Your Small Business” was first published on Small Business Trends