The Gentle Art of Good ListeningAuthor(s): Jack LewisSource: Public Administration Review, Vol. 32, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1972), pp. 544-545Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Society for Public AdministrationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/975163 .

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW

THE GENTLE ART

OF GOOD LISTENING

Jack Lewis, Kansas City

Nearly everyone is familiar with the expression "courtesy is contagious," and I'm sure most of us

can cite some graphic example of how, simply by applying the principles of common courtesy, we have been able to alter the attitude of someone whom we might previously have regarded as being grouchy, irritable, or possibly downright rude.

Conversely, I'm sure that virtually every gov- ernment employee has, at one time or another, been seized with the almost irresistible urge to "tell off" some pompous or overbearing patron or constituent. In fact, I believe we might go a step further and suggest that most of us have, on

occasion, succumbed to this impulse. If you have,

surely at a later date when the incident was closed

and almost forgotten, you have asked yourself the

question: "Was it really worth it?" Those of us who work in government service

have, in many ways, a more difficult public relations problem than do our counterparts in

private industry. Living, as we do, in a democracy, it is one of the basic rights of the people who pay taxes to support this democracy to complain about how the government is being run. They rationalize their attitude by saying: "These are

my dollars which are being used to keep this

system operating. Therefore, I have a right to see that they're properly spent." And since people see

public service employees at the local level more often than they see their congressman, much of the resentment toward all forms of government is directed at the people who happen to be the most

readily available. In addition to this, the people who work in

private industry have still another advantage over

us, at least as far as customer relations is con- cerned. In private industry it is permissible (after

taking a reasonable degree of abuse and harass- ment) to say to a customer: "Now, I've done

everything I can to please you. Since this obvi-

ously is still not enough and I cannot do any more and still make a profit, I'd recommend now that

you take your business elsewhere." We in the government service cannot in most

cases do this. We have an obligation to serve all of the public, despite how unreasonable or offensive

they appear to act at times. It is vital and

necessary that we do this because, in most

instances, there is literally no other place they can

go to be served. We are, since we must serve all the citizens of the community, state, or nation, in what Abraham Lincoln described as an impossible situation. Yet impossible or not the government employee must at least try to "please all of the

people all of the time!" This is extremely frustrating at times. If we, as

we sometimes must, point out certain policies which prohibit the granting of a request, we run the risk of being accused of "snarling up the

operation in red tape." If we are forced to deny a

request because we lack the authority to carry it

out, we are frequently referred to as "bureau- crats." In addition to this, every branch of every government agency, be it local, state, or federal, seems to have acquired at least one patron who

(for lack of a better term) we can only define as a

"professional taxpayer." In fairness to these people, we must concede

that, in many instances, they are only following through on what they consider to be a high sense of civic duty. Furthermore, many of them do have

legitimate complaints that must be answered or acted upon. To deal with these people and still retain our dignity and poise is often a difficult task.

Fortunately, most of the inquiries and com-

plaints which we are required to process involve

dealing with people who are reasonable and

occasionally even appreciative of our efforts to resolve their problems. Many of these individuals will freely admit that they regard government workers in general as being courteous, helpful, and

generally anxious to please. In short, we may be

justified in bragging just a bit about the fact that as far as the overwhelming majority of the public is concerned, we have managed to project a

reasonably good image. But let's extend this line of thinking a bit

further. Let's be honest and ask ourselves exactly why we have alienated those people who may feel otherwise. And if we do, I believe we would find that the antigovernment employee attitude of most of these people was originally moulded, or at least motivated, by some government employee who failed to follow the basic rules of common

courtesy. In short, every time we indulge ourselves in discourteous treatment of the public we serve,

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

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CURRENTS AND SOUNDINGS

we hurt not only ourselves, but all of our co-workers who must, after all, deal with these

people for the balance of their government career! How can we most effectively deal with these

people? Human nature being what it is, I believe we

must first face the fact that when we deal with human beings we are dealing with intangibles. Every person is just a little bit different. Because of this, it is virtually impossible to come up with

any hard and fast set of rules which will operate effectively in every case. Instead we must, as is so often the case with problems which involve human factors, gear the necessary action to the

specific situation. In fact if there is any formula, or any magic method with which we can more

efficiently deal with our day to day problems, surely that formula would be common courtesy.

Usually, when a patron is required to pay a visit to a government agency he is, even upon entering the premises, just a little bit annoyed. A

wrong word, or even a patronizing gesture, by the

government employee with whom he must deal

can, at this time, go a long way toward generating resentment.

It is at this point (the initial contact with the

patron) that the government employee can best serve both the customer and his agency by what can best be described as "the gentle art of good listening."

Most of the inquiries processed by a govern- ment agency involve routine and not very exciting problems. Many of the people who bring in these

problems take a long and roundabout way of

getting to the point. This, in turn, takes up our time and prohibits us from doing other things which are urgent or important. When this happens we are frequently seized with the urge to inter-

rupt; to prod these people, so to speak, and help them get to the point.

This course of action is a mistake. It seldom

accomplishes anything and can generate ill will on the part of the patron, who may feel that you are

trying to brush him off. Public relations experts learn early in their

careers that the best way to create a healthy attitude on the part of the people with whom they deal is to first be a good listener. They learn to curb their desire to interrupt the other person's train of thought. In view of this, for better public relations with the public with whom we must deal a cardinal rule should be: "Hear the other fellow out!"

Another extremely sensitive area, as far as

government employees are concerned, is the man- ner in which we conduct ourselves when we answer the telephone. Many government agencies now have training courses on telephone protocol. Yet despite this we frequently encounter instances which point up a complete ignorance on the part of public service employees of the basic rules of

telephone tact. A friendly smile can be "heard" on the tele-

phone. So can a frown. What we say, how we say it, our warmth, sincerity, and manner all project over the wire. The Bell Telephone Company, in connection with their employee training program, offers the following formula for answering tele-

phone inquiries:

Listen - Let the caller talk.

Express interest and understanding. Avoid buck passing. Maintain your poise. Take required action.

One of the most frequent complaints by indi- viduals who do business with government agencies is the failure of the party being called to properly identify himself. A salutory opening like "Hello," or "Yes," may be appropriate for calls received in the privacy of one's home, but in business it reflects an indifferent attitude, infers reluctance to

accept responsibility, and generates resentment in the mind of the caller.

Instead, an opening statement like "Finance Division - Wilson speaking," will convey all the necessary preliminary information to the caller and permit him to get on with the business at hand without further delay.

Finally, in our association with the public an effort should be made to use the other person's name as often as it can be worked into the conversation without redundance. This is an auto- matic reaction for all persons engaged in active selling. And like it or not, a government agency - despite the usual lack of competi- tion - is very much in the business of selling a product.

Of all the skills in the world, the art of good listening is probably the easiest to learn. It requires no physical energy, no special skill, no mental strain, and no expensive courses of study. Once acquired it can pay off huge dividends in success and happiness.

One of the biggest mysteries of our civilization is that so few people realize this.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

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