Five Work Principles You Should Know About - Part 3

Source: Omdur on sxc.hu

First we talked about the learning curve when understanding the five work principles you should know about and then we talked about observingyour environment.  The second principle has to do with what you say.

The second work principle you should know about is

Listen, listen, and listen, before you speak!

At the beginning of a new job the only time you should be speaking is to ask questions or when you are asked a question.  Otherwise, you should be listening.  You should listen to everything.

Of course, that’s not to say that you should eavesdrop on people’s conversations but everything else you should listen to very carefully.  Even conversations that don’t seem important can reveal a lot about the office that you are working in.  It can tell you things like who are the leaders and who are the followers and who is running the show.  Logic says it should be the boss that is running show but that’s not always the case.

If you come across some interesting observations write down what you’ve seen or heard.  It may come in handy later.  Of course, you want to make sure that anything you write down is kept confidential so don’t keep your notes on the company computer.  Your cell phone might be a good place to write down some notes or just a notepad that you keep in your purse or your business bag.

If you are truly listening, you will soon find out the best way to initiate conversations.  You’ll be more prepared and less likely to offend people.