Are You Really Listening?
To be able to listen to others in a sympathetic and understanding manner is perhaps the most effective mechanism in the world for getting along with people and tying up their friendship for good. Too few people practice the magic of being good listeners. In a way, each of us is “running for office” every day of our lives. The people we meet and talk with are constantly sizing us up, analyzing us, and appraising us. In their own minds they “vote” either for us or against us. They give us a vote of confidence or a vote of distrust. They decide in favor of doing business with us, or not, as the case may be. More times than you realize, the one deciding factor is, “How well did you listen?” Most of us want the other fellow to think we are clever, intelligent, “smart.” But the person who goes around always making “smart remarks,” always knocking himself out to be “clever,” is not voted in by the other fellow as a “clever person.” Instead he gets elected to the classification of “smart-aleck” or “egotist.” There is one sure way, however, to convince the other fellow that you are one of the wisest, most intelligent people he has ever met: Listen, and pay attention to what he has to say. The fact that you attach enough importance to what he is saying, that you listen attentively so as not to miss a single word, proves to him that you are a very smart person.
This art of listening is so important; don’t pass it over without putting it into practice. Perhaps you read something that sounds good, are convinced is true; then resolve to put it into practice. But if you don’t check yourself, you forget all about it in a day or two. One way to overcome this is to list some definite things to do and start doing them. So apply the knowledge you gained from reading this and don’t let it get away. Starting right now, you can practice the following:
