Campaign Spotlight | Sweden: 52% of Americans think their bosses are bad listeners – this hightech facemask is the solution

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – According to a survey conducted by interactive presentation platform, Mentimeter, 52 % of American full-time workers consider their bosses to be parrots. A parrot being someone who interrupts others, repeats platitudes, speaks loudly and talks without listening. As opposed to the traditional definition of a parrot, which according to Cambridge Dictionary either is “a tropical bird” or the act of “repeating exactly what someone else says, without understanding or thinking about its meaning”, Mentimeter has broadened the definition of parroting – in order to emphasize the importance of listening, especially in the workplace.

Learn more at: www.dontbeaparrot.com

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According to the survey, conducted amongst 1 063 American full-time employees, 75 % perceive parroting as a problem, a problem that is most common at work (39 %). 89 % find the behavior annoying, of which 31 % find it very annoying. With this in mind, recognizing that “talking without listening” is both the most annoying (33,5 %) and the most common (35 %) parroting behavior, one could question the quality of the communication between managers and their employees.

Thankfully, as well as identifying, investigating and analyzing the problem, Mentimeter also presents a solution – a smart, facemask that uses tech solutions to counteract parroting. With features such as the a Parrot Vocalizer that turns your voice into a parrot’s if you speak for too long, a Buzzword Detector that warns you if you’re using too many business platitudes, and Read the Room Sensor that interrupts otherwise interrupted babbling, the prototype is intended to make people talk less and listen more. And stop them from behaving like Parrots.

Johnny Warström, Mentimeter CEO and Co-Founder, comments: “At Mentimeter, we truly believe in the power of listening, to give everyone a voice, independently of who they are or how loudly they talk. In business, education, and politics, modern leadership is about understanding that to be heard – you need to listen. Usually, we try to influence people to listen more by using our presentation platform’s interactive features. Still, as our research shows, parroting is a big issue in the workplace and society at large. So we called for a last resort – a physical prevention of parroting encouraging leaders to talk less and listen more.”

Apart from being a welcome innovation at work, the mask should offer some relief to the society as a whole – The Politician is elected as the biggest parrot of all, “winning” 48,5 % of the respondent’s votes. The workplace is however the place where parroting is the most common (39 %), even more common than in politics (30 %).

Key findings from the survey:

75 % perceive parroting as a problem
52 % recognize parroting as a behaviour amongst managers at their workplace • 89 % find parroting annoying, of which 31 % find it very annoying
Talking without listening is the most common (35 %), and most annoying parroting behavior (33,5 %)

Top parrot short list: