Listening is a fundamental component of communication in relationships, but also in businesses, teams, and organizations.  Miscommunication is a costly result of poor listening, easily having real and hidden costs that total in the thousands of dollars. Hard to believe?

Consider a miscommunication causes four people earning $50,000/year four hours each (the first one hour meeting, one hour spent doing work incorrectly, the second meeting about the miscommunication, and one hour to fix things). That’s $400. If it’s ten people, that’s $1000. If it happens once every few months, that’s $1,200 and $4,000 per year respectively – and that’s before factoring in costs of money spent unnecessarily or incorrectly, missed opportunities, losing business, resulting conflict, and/or lost productivity.

If taking Listening 101 reduces miscommunication even slightly over a year, it will have more than paid for itself!