I like to
listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never
listen. - Ernest Hemingway
Richard Branson is a very daring, unique, successful individual
that struggled in his younger years with dyslexia and ADA (Attention Deficit
Disorder). He even dropped out of high
school at 16 because he found it too difficult to learn in a classroom. Throughout the many adventures in his career,
he has learned that to be successful in life one of the most important things
an individual can do is listen.
But the ability to
lock in and listen is a skill that has served me well in life. Although it
seems to be somewhat of a dying art, I believe that listening is one of the
most important skills for any teacher, parent, leader, entrepreneur or, well,
just about anyone who has a pulse.
Last week, Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week discussed the
following listening skills:
- The communication of nonverbal cues
- Be patient with people when they speak
- Ask questions
This week, here are 2 more important points:
- Show Empathy
Empathy is “the psychological identification with or
vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another”.
(dictionary.com)
After asking questions, it is important to listen to a
speaker and understand the other person’s point of view. With my job, I have to work with a variety of
people to create legislation for change.
Often times, I have to intently listen to an individual’s perspective to
understand why they believe what they believe.
As I listen, I have to let go of preconceived opinions and have an
open-mind to what they are saying. This
does not mean I change my view and agree with them. However, this allows me the opportunity to view
the situation from their perspective, understand them better, challenge myself
in my thinking and become stronger in my job.
-Focus on the Message
This point can be interpreted in many different ways, but I
want to discuss that we need to focus on the message and not let distractions
bias our opinion. For example, a bias
could be held against someone for the way they speak, their education level or
a different political affiliation. Richard Branson said it best:
As you will (I hope) understand,
one of the keys to ‘the way’ [the Virgin Way] we do things is nothing more
complex than listening – listening intently to everyone who has an opinion to
share, not just the self-professed experts.
We daily interact with various people and we need to take
each person’s opinion and learn from it!
As confident individuals with a purpose in life, we need to
listen more than we speak because we have nothing to prove. We should strive to accomplish what is in our
hearts. We need to listen, pay attention
to others, and grow because focusing on people is more enjoyable and productive
than speaking.
Courage
is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit
down and listen. - Winston Churchill
Resources:
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