Near the top of the list for anyone seeking romance is to find that special someone who is a good listener. In the working world, most recruiters put listening skills at or near the top of their list as well. And people everywhere are drawn to a good and compassionate listener.
Yet good listeners are hard to find. Why? Because our minds jump all over the place - that dinner party this Saturday night, that upcoming wedding or ball game, the project due in an hour, the sales quota, the insulting comment someone just made or the latest celebrity gossip.
To become a good listener shut off all this mental noise and focus on the speaker and the message. Turn off computers and smart phones and smile, look the person in the eye, and acknowledge each point being made, repeating the key points. As a sign of respect, and to more easily remember what is said, take notes.
It is this simple. And if you do these things, you will become dramatically more popular, for you will be giving people what they so desperately need, a sense that what they say really matters.
Dick
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