What immediately comes to mind when you think about a clinical trials professional (CTP)? Perhaps it’s an individual in a lab coat, with an academic scientific background, surrounded by tables and tables of data, immersed in their research. They’ll be skilled in data analysis, detail-oriented and a deep critical thinker. However, you might neglect one of the most invaluable skills every CTP and aspiring CTP needs if they’re to succeed in their field: the ability to listen. Or, more importantly, the ability to actively listen. What is active listening, and why is it so important in clinical research? That’s what we’re here to tell you.
Overview
Active listening is simple enough to grasp. It requires a person to pay close attention to what someone is communicating, both verbally and non-verbally, and to play an active role in helping the other person work through and understand their issue. Sounds easy enough, but in practice it is a skill you will continue to develop throughout your career.
When you’re listening to someone, it’s easy to drift off or plan your response to what they are going to say before they even finish saying it. You can neglect to pick up on body language and misinterpret the content and meaning of what a person is saying. Time spent miscommunicating and misinterpreting means time delaying and stalling the progress of your clinical research, which is sure to be a costly endeavour.
There is a deeper history to the term active listening too. It was coined by American psychologists Carl Rogers and Richard Farson, who took the communication principles from counselling and conflict resolution and demonstrated how they could be used in a professional business setting.
If you want to practise and participate in active listening, you need to understand the total meaning of what someone is saying. That means paying attention to both the information that is said and the way it is conveyed (the tone and intonation), as well as identifying a person’s non-verbal cues and, ultimately, having the empathic skills to respond to how they are feeling, as well as the information they’re providing you.
You could be working towards some incredible breakthroughs in your clinical research, but those discoveries simply won’t be possible without the ecosystem of clear and proficient communication. For any field you work in, this sounds obvious enough, but in clinical trials, that ecosystem of communication could span the globe to different institutions and varying levels of management and expertise, as well external stakeholders all invested in different components of your research.
Our communications skills courses leader Jon Gilbert puts it simply: “If you tell someone a telephone number and they write it down incorrectly, how can you even ensure that subsequent results and data are interpreted accurately?” [...] It’s easy to make mistakes in clinical trials where the stakes are high, whilst adhering to tight budget and time constraints. Failure to understand communications and respond appropriately will slow down the trials.” When drug developments can already take between 10 and 15 years before they make it to market, that’s time you cannot afford to lose.
Building on the concept of active listening, Jon also explains why communication is about more than just the information you convey: “Frequent breakdowns in global communications across companies are not solely due to spoken language problems, but could be caused by your tone and intonation…listening difficulties and failing to confirm what you have heard.” This isn’t just relevant for clinical trials administrators (CTAs) at the beginning of their careers, because anyone at any level of management can be capable of neglecting to listen properly.
When you have to absorb and deliver complex information and communicate across cultures, active listening is going to be a fundamental tool for your success as a CTP.
Whether you’re a clinical project manager (CPM) juggling multiple tasks or a CTA on the first day of your job, you can use active listening to your advantage. Here’s how!
These soft skills are tools we will spend our lifetimes building and honing. As Jon puts it, “even at the top of your profession, you may not realise how boring, demanding, unclear, confusing or overwhelming your verbal or written information sharing might be, not only to CTPs, but also to clients, suppliers, technicians and administrators for whom you may need to adapt your communication style to achieve the results you desire.”
That’s why at CGX we offer a variety of specialised courses in communication skills. These include Communicating Effectively, Writing Expressively, Presenting Fearlessly and Influencing Convincingly. If you’re interested in developing these skills or want to empower your CTPs with professional communication skills, then don’t hesitate to contact us today.
