Listening to People

Recently the top executives of a major manufacturing plant in the Chicago area were asked to survey the role that listening plays in their work. Later, an executive seminar on listening was held. Here are three typical comments made by participants: “Frankly, I had never thought of listening as an important subject by itself. But […]

by

Ralph G. Nichols

and

Leonard A. Stevens

by

Ralph G. Nichols

and

Leonard A. Stevens

From the Magazine (September 1957)

Recently the top executives of a major manufacturing plant in the Chicago area were asked to survey the role that listening plays in their work. Later, an executive seminar on listening was held. Here are three typical comments made by participants:

A version of this article appeared in the September 1957 issue of Harvard Business Review.

RN

Mr. Nichols, who heads up a Communications Program at the University of Minnesota, is nationally known for his many articles and lectures on communication problems. In 1951–1952 he served as President of the National Society for the Study of Communication, an organization chartered to make a continuing and systematic study of communication as a means to building more harmonious relations within groups and among individuals. He has also served on the editorial boards of two national publications, has taught in a wide variety of adult education programs, and has been President of the State Speech Teachers Associations in Iowa and Minnesota.
LS

Mr. Stevens is a free-lance writer and a consultant on oral presentation to a number of leading companies and also is affiliated with Management Development Associates of New York. For two years he served as News Editor and Newscaster for educational radio station WSUI in Iowa City. He was doing research on the comprehension of news writing and broadcasting at the University of Iowa when he met Mr. Nichols. They collaborated on some short articles on listening and now have a book coming out on the subject—Are You Listening? (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1957).

Listening to People

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