Most people love to speak and to tell stories. Yet, many of us are so busy monopolizing a conversation that we don't take the time to:
1) Listen to our vendors, customers, clients, contacts, competitors, team mates, employees and colleagues;
2) Let these potentially important people educate us by our listening to what they have to say and focusing on it with full attention;
3) Read their critical non-verbal communication, body language and microexpressions in order to see how they are reacting to us, or to determine how they feel about what we've said;
4) Let people vent until the hostility goes away, reason returns and fatigue sets in;
5) Ask them how they feel or what they think about something [letting them be our experts and advisors -- at least to their perception];
6) Thank them for speaking to you, and for informing you of something which you hadn't realized before;
7) Nod our heads in either the affirmative or in the negative to make it obvious that we are listening, absorbing, involved, evaluating and confirming our agreement (if we do, in fact agree) with what is being said, either in whole or part.
Followers of The Sending Signals Blog must realize that signals are sent and received, but a diatribe or a lecture does not create an important dialog -- an important bridge is built and strengthened when we act as good receivers of the signals sent by others.
As you may already know every storyteller loves a 'good listener'. Your company will be cherished if you learn how to listen with focus, acknowledgement and respect for the communicator across the canyon from you.
You've heard it said many times before -- "He/She is a great listener!"
Be that great listener. Cultivate your listening skills. More people will want to speak with you -- but ironically, more people will willingly listen to you.... especially if you are addressing their issues or answering their questions. From the standpoint of behavioral psychology, these people will feel more important and gratified. You will get more cooperation.
As the image at the top of this article implies "We build too many walls and not enough bridges." Fail to listen, and you'll build half of a bridge
Thank you for reading me, and for retweeting and otherwise sharing these articles with your colleagues, friends and connections throughout your social media platforms, forums and clubs.
Douglas E. Castle
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CFI - CrowdFunding Incubator LLC
ICS - International Connection Services
Global Edge Technologies Group LLC
CFI Business Growth
Douglas E. Castle On LinkedIn - Join Me!
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