Practice Listening

If you asked just about anyone what's the most important component to better communication what do you think they'd say? What do you say?

I think it's listening. No matter what we say, if we don't skillfully listen to what we are receiving in connection with our intentions, our efforts are less than optimal.

There have been times when I've had so much to say that it seems like I just don't stop talking. On and on I ramble with passion about the item I want others to adopt. It's a quality that gets me going but that can slow me down if I don't remember to pause long enough to listen. Really quiet myself enough to hear what's going on. Sometimes it's words, sometimes it's body-language, sometimes it's pure energetic incongruence, but something is always going on. Listen.

Listen.

It works when I am rambling on too long. It works when someone else is rambling on too long.

If you speak long enough you're likely to disagree with yourself.

As leaders we deal with opposites, complexities, change, and emotion. Speaking too much without listening brings about reactions we are not looking for - disengagement, disagreement, discontinuity.

Listen.

Listening: There's never too much of that to go around.

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: Training Supervisors for Success

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

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