Welcome to Monday Morning: Listening
Listen! Or your tongue will make you deaf
Cherokee saying
Thought for the week
Most of us view listening as a passive form of activity, a time when we can formulate our next question, prepare our next line of attack or even daydream. Listening is in fact a very active skill, involving focusing our attention and concentration on the individual doing the talking. When listening is done in this way, the listener is looking to understand what is really being said, picking up the non-verbal cues ? what hasn't been said ? and the underlying emotion of the speaker.
Challenge for the week
What kinds of conversation would benefit from active listening? Would your sales results or personal relationships improve? Do you think you would have less need to ask co-workers to repeat themselves?
