Listening Skills Training: Key Skills Every Consultant Needs

For many professionals, transitioning from their chosen career into a consulting career that draws on the knowledge of the former is an attractive option. After years of learning the ins and outs of their industry and area of expertise, many professionals are in a good position to provide advice to companies that need executive guidance - and are paid handsomely for providing it. Before they develop a client roster, though, potential consultants should receive listening skills training to learn attributes that they may not have acquired in their previous profession, and strengthen ones that they already possess.

If planning on leveraging work experience into a consulting gig, below is a list of qualities that should be acquired, or strengthened, before doing so; a Group facilitation service is one place to do this.

Human interaction. Many people lead long, successful careers without possessing legitimate people skills. That is because some professions do not require a high level of personal interaction, neither with clients nor colleagues. For consultants, however, human interaction is a constant necessity. As a consultant, the professional will spend a significant amount of face time listening to companies' issues and offering feedback on how to address them. If the professional is a natural people person, the most important qualities will already be acquired.

Active Listening. Although a person who interacts well with people would seem to be a good active listener, this is not always the case. Some people excel at giving speeches but heave ears that seem to be for decorative purposes only. The problem, of course, is that no one thinks that he or she is a bad listener, whether he or she is or not. Consequently, anyone who plans to be a consultant should take a consulting skills training course that deals with active listening.

Facilitation Ability. Some consultants also work as facilitators, and vice versa. If planning on diversifying a skill set by including facilitation among one's services, be sure to receive group facilitation training from a qualified provider. Some providers of facilitation classes also offer courses in consulting, as the two disciplines require one to possess many of the same abilities.

Reasoning Ability. Some past career tests may have measured the logical reasoning ability. While the level of logic involved in business consulting does not require professionals to hold court with Aristotle or Kurt Gödel, they should be able to figure out solutions that meet the wants and needs of the client using logic. To brush up on this reasoning ability, one do not need to head back to college for a logic class. Simply take a consulting skills training course instead.

Conclusion

Consulting is a natural career choice for many professionals after they finish their formal career. To make a smooth transition, though, prospective consultants should acquire the qualities listed above from a provider of group facilitation services. Depending on the area of engagement, more specific qualities may be required as well.

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