The ability to listen is our biggest strength especially at work. It does not matter what stage in the career we are, listening can be our one big asset. And in my years working I have found interesting concepts on the ‘art of listening’

Listening is a waste of time: There is an interesting notion among some that listening to others eats up our precious time. These are the usual restless ones who become habituals in the art of not listening and make it difficult for people to work with them. I agree there are time wasters in all organizations, but then we should remove the time wasters and not keep them around instead of keeping them around and not listening to them 🙂

Making it Obvious: Have you seen people who play around with their phone when we talk? It is again another habitual error that is even costing people their job and credibility. I am not perfect to be honest, but I do try often to make sure I am not using a phone, when talking to people… Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. I think we need to stop using phones in meetings however boring they are.

Short attention Span is a sign of rank: Haven’t you heard people say that top guys have a very short attention span. They say it like it is a feather on the cap. Really? It is not because they have a short attention span, it is because they do not really have much priority in what you have to say. You figure at a different level in their list of priorities and so it is our duty to make maximum use of the time we have. Use it or lose it. It is not a feather in their cap, but a hole in ours 🙂

Listen Before You Speak: Communication we all know is a two way street and you can be on either side of it anytime of the day. It is true we have a lot to say and the whole world wants to hear us, but then they will hear only if we first lend them a ear and a heart to listen.  So let us hold on to our beautiful voice and pretty speak. First listen and then speak. I mean try to communicate…

And writing this does not make me perfect.. I am so not what I wrote here… But this is the Journal of an Active Learner and I have to remind sometimes… the same things I already know….

Categories: Life, Work & Career

Tags: communication, listening, talking