Are You Listening?

Are You Really Listening?

July 19, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway

Listening. A lost art? I don’t think so. But I do think many are not quite getting how important it is on social platforms and how many messages and opportunities there are to build relationships, offer solutions and learn.

Nearly every thing I do in business is strategic. Authentic, but strategic. I am a businesswoman. I build people who build businesses, including my own. And as a businessperson, you must begin to learn how to listen and be strategic to if you want to create more awesome.

So here is how the story goes…

I posted the pic above last week with the caption… “Missing my lash extensions + needing a laugh at the moment.” There was a not so hidden message to those who were listening.

The most telling thing was, out of 280 likes and 74 comments, only ONE person reached out to me about their lash services & products. ONE. Only ONE awesome human really listened and read this post strategically, and said to themselves…. “Hmmmmmmm… sounds like Nina is craving some lash services. Maybe I should reach out to her.”

This is social listening at its finest. Not spamming. Not attention seeking. Not self-serving. None of those. It was all listening. Seeing a need or problem. And providing a solution.

Think about it. What would happen if you spent more time on social platforms listening than talking? What would you learn? A lot. I promise. Try it. Then let me know how it goes. I’m listening.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

Can You Hear Me?

December 8, 2014Nina KovnerGROW, MY TRUTH

“The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.”

William Hazlitt

 

Bed In via Wikipedia

(image via Wikipedia)

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

The fifth Chakra, known as the throat Chakra, is associated with speaking and expression.

Now you might be thinking, what the hell is Nina doing talking Chakras? Good question. Not even close to my expertise. Stay with me…

On Saturday, I was in an intense session with a massage therapist who is working with my Chiropractor to figure out why my neck, shoulder and upper back are in so much pain. In fact, I have not really slept in two weeks. Yes I have disc issues, but they are easily treated with through my Chiro, Energy Healer, Therapist and Pilates.

During the session, my awesome massage therapist Peter said… “Something is up with your fifth Chakra.” You are struggling with being heard, or speaking your truth. I’m like, me? Seriously?

And then it hit me, not only have I been struggling with some situations in relation to expression, but my heart has also been so heavy witnessing the injustices of the world, and in particular the intense negativity on social platforms. And I have not spoken up enough about how I feel. As the great Martin Luther King so brilliantly said… “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

What was so interesting about this session, is the evening before, I was awakened at 12:30AM, to passionate protesters marching down my street, for the 5 or 6th time in the last two weeks. I went to the window, and began to weep. The weeping quickly turned to straight up balling me eyes out.

Now it’s beginning to all make sense. My heart is aching for words I have left unsaid, but even more, for the fact that these beautiful and passionate young people, are up at 12:30AM, marching in solidarity, chanting what sadly have become recent trending hashtags #handsupdontshoot and #icantbreathe. I was both sad and inspired. Needless to say, it moved me beyond words.

It also happened to be World Aids Day on December 1st, which brought up a lot of emotion for me, as I thought about marching in protest on Washington DC with ACT UP in the late 80’s, early 90’s. And we were angry. Our chant was “Silence equals death.” A life changing time indeed. And almost a bit eerie that the messages are not all that different. Being seen and heard. Wow.

As humans, we all have a core need to be seen and feel heard. And when we are not, we begin to crumble. This can be expressed with anger, resentment, physical alignments or simply withdrawing from society. If protesters felt seen and heard would things be different? My heart thinks so.

We can take this same thought, and apply it to businesses, as business is life. Do we feel seen and heard? Does our team really feel seen and heard? Do our clients really feel seen and heard?

I can tell you from experience, team members and clients leave our businesses because the answer is no.

So now I have some intense work to do on getting to the bottom of my pain, and maybe you do too.

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

Is Anybody Listening?

Is Anybody Listening?

February 6, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Leo Buscaglia

 

Can You Hear Me Now?(image discovered on Google via smartinsights.com)

One of the greatest opportunities we all have with the social revolution for business is an opportunity to listen. And for customers, a big opportunity to be heard.

Before YELP, Google, Facebook and the like, it was much harder to really know what people were saying about our salons, companies and brands. It was also not so easy for an everyday person, like me, to reach out to a mentor, a community, a brand. The social revolution has changed that, forever.

Today, the challenge for all of us is to learn how to become good listeners. And the payoff can be huge if we do. How do we do it? The following is my list of a few ways you can become a listening business.

1. Care
You have to care. If you care, you will take the time, energy and resources available to you to become a listening company. This is always the first step.

2. Make Listening A Priority
When I hear people express to me their concern about the time and energy it takes to engage on the social and digital web, my answer is always…”What could possibly be more important than engaging with and listening to your customers?”

As business becomes more social, it’s time to look at your systems, processes and activities and adjust them to meet up with the expectations of the connected customer.

You can also set most of your social pages to alert you when there is activity on your pages. If it matters, you will find the time and resources.

3. Engage On The Platforms That Matter
If you are a salon owner or work in a salon, platforms such as YELP, Google Places, CitySearch, Foursquare and Facebook are awesome listening platforms as is Twitter. Simply search the name of your business. If you are in the product business, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google are all great places to listen.

Social Business Leaders Care. They Engage. They Respond.
Recently, one of my biggest biz mentors and super smart thought leaders in the social + digital space Chris Brogan was listening. How do I know he was listening? He responded. To both an email I sent him, and a tweet. And I am not talking about auto-responded, I mean really responded, with love, attention and grace. Why? Because he cares and understands the power of one person, one tweet, one email at a time. He is a true daymaker in my book. If you are in business today, you are a social business too.

This is a pic of our Twitter convo after our email convo, in which Chris took the time to read one of my blog posts inspired by him and share his thoughts with me. Can you believe that? One of my awesome mentors who I have never met responded to my email. A true OMG moment for me. And this all took place early on a Sunday morning. Yep. Sunday morning. I heart him.

Chris Brogan Tweet

My challenge to you is to take an honest look at your daily activities, and begin to carve out time to really listen to what people are saying about you, your salon, your company and your brand. Believe me, they are talking. Are you listening?

How are you listening on the social web? I would love for you to share your thoughts in the comments or you can share your story with me. I am listening.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)