Group: The Customer Voice  
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Lesson 3: Talk less & listen more
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Lesson 3: Talk less & listen more
11:34 AM EDT 3/27/09
I must say I really liked the reminder on using the Socratic method, particularly the part dealing with talking less and listening more.

Some points that really resonated with me included respecting the cusomer's knowledge of products, believing that every customer is unique, and inquiring then actively listening. I think it's easy to sometimes bypass an indepth Reference interview and assume we know what a student or patron is asking for. We hear their initial request and already our mind revs into top speed and comes up with solutions, rather than spending more time to really, really listen. This was a good reminder to me.

Another neat thing I liked that was shown in one of their role-playing clips was the point to repeat back to the patron what we hear them saying to us. This lets them hear what we have thought we heard and permits any misperceptions to be cleared up. I sometimes forget to do that, but I think it is a really good tool in the reference interview.
RE: Lesson 3: Talk less & listen more
12:04 PM EDT 3/27/09 as a reply to Dawn Krist.
>>We hear their initial request and already our mind revs into top speed and comes up with solutions<<

I hadn't realized before how the Socratic method is similar to the Reference Interview. As I was reading through the lesson, I was thinking what an advantage reference librarians have in this approach due to our interview training. But, like Dawn says, it is so easy to get caught up in the pressure for a fast answer. If we are trying to meet the "Google" expectations of patrons, it's harder to slow down and practice the active listening.

This quotation from the course made me think about the real value of libraries:
“By engaging customers initially and then really listening to what they are saying, you will be set apart from your competition. ...[This] gives customers a sense of being part of your company and a part of your plan.”