What The Daily Show Host Trevor Noah Taught Me About Communication

A few weeks ago I attended a taping of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Before the actual taping began, Trevor introduced himself and took questions from the studio audience. After a couple questions, one audience member asked an insightful, but rather unusual question to ask a comedian.

She asked, “What advice would you give to social activists who are trying to advance their cause?”

After she asked the question, I became a little nervous for Trevor…..what would he respond? Is he going to lose the audience even before the taping started?

To my pleasant surprise, though, Trevor gave an astute response. He replied, “Too many people these days are so quick to jump to conclusions and become offended that we fail to listen to and understand the other side. If we did that, we would find that we have much more in common [with other people] than we initially thought.”

I took a few seconds to digest what he said; and I thought about the numerous times people would comment on and debate about news events or posts on social media without taking the time to understand the issue.

Trevor’s response also made me think about some of the business meetings I’ve been in where one participant or another department seemed to simply oppose the new initiative or proposal without truly looking into it further.

This has proved to be an impediment for many businesses. In a Harvard Business School study, “top executives of a major manufacturing plant...were asked to survey the role that listening plays in their work.” One executive stated, “‘I’ve been thinking back about things that have gone wrong over the past couple of years, and I suddenly realized that many of the troubles have resulted from someone not hearing something, or getting it in a distorted way.’”

So, how do you become a better listener?

In my observations, people often think they are listening, but instead they are just formulating how they are going to respond. Instead, while someone is talking, remain in the present and actively take in what they are trying to convey. After they finish, then take a few seconds to think about how to respond and how what they said might relate to you.

What other tips do you have to become a better listener? Do you have any suggestions about what not to do? Let me know in the comments.

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