the art of listening - helping mentors and mentees communicate

I subscribe to an interesting e-newsletter put out by Nonprofit Risk Management, a group that does great work in all areas of managing risk in the nonprofit world. Today's article was on managing employee conflicts in the workplace, but it struck me that all of the advice in this article is equally applicable to the mentor/mentee relationship. So I thought I'd share it with you.

This quote in particular stood out for me:

“There is only one test for the effectiveness of any communication, and that is what the listener understands.”

As your mentors and mentees struggle to understand each other, they need lots of tips, tools, and ongoing support about listening and communicating. Perhaps a few of the concepts in this article will be helpful as you offer that support.

Back issues of the e-news can be found at:
http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/library/enews/enews.shtml

The e-news bulletin on communication is titled "Can You Hear Me Now"
http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/library/enews/2010/enews072810.htm