Can you afford not to listen?

To mark World Listening Day, we spoke to OTD business coach, Kiminari Azuma. 

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Now in his seventh decade, Kiminari is on a mission to pass on the value and power of listening, to everyone he interacts with.

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“Where communication is considered, society often focuses on speaking rather than listening.

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“When I was in my 30s, I was full of energy, I loved talking about myself rather than listening to others. It wasn’t until I was in my 50s and learned to listen that I really grew up. I realised that I should have learnt how to listen when I was younger.” 

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Based near Tokyo, Kiminari has been delivering training to Japanese business professionals for many years, particularly in sectors such as life sciences. 

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Much of his success is based on active listening. It requires a coach to listen with all their senses – not only to the stories that are shared with them, but the way in which those stories are told. Yet such key skills aren’t universally shared. 

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“When we meet a doctor in a hospital for example, we will take time to listen carefully to them. I have trained hundreds of managers and most of them are very talkative – when we are in an office environment, we talk far more than we listen.” 

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Typically Kiminari’s audience comprises those in their 40s and 50s but occasionally he delivers to younger people, in their 20s too. 

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And it’s here that he’s noticed a further decline in listening skills.

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“In Japan, a younger audience is often very quiet in a training workshop but active on social media, where anyone can now express their opinions. 

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“Through social networking, I can see what is happening around the world faster than through newspapers and on TV, and my perception of the world has changed dramatically.

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“While this is a wonderful thing, I often see people expressing negative opinions and throwing violent words at each other without trying to understand the other person’s view.

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“It creates social disruption, our younger generation learns the behaviour and they imitate. I don’t see people listening and learning from each other.” 

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So how do we go about encouraging people of all ages to listen?

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Kiminari is a huge advocate of Toastmasters, the nonprofit educational organisation that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication and public speaking.

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He believes the way that its members embrace social media offers an important lesson for all of us. 

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“At Toastmasters, people freely express their opinions but are encouraged to listen before they do so. We don’t pass comments based on a surface level understanding.

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“As a coach and career consultant, my style is based on empathetic listening. I want to pass on the power and value of listening to others and particularly the younger generation.”

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