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Deep Listening is Becoming a Lost Skill (Why Smart People Really Listen)
And really paying attention pays off in the end
We all need to listen better. That is the mantra. But why do you really need to pay attention to what the other person is saying and trying to convey to you? What’s in it for you?
“As leaders and positive difference-makers, one of our biggest challenges, we must turn into an opportunity is to get individuals to listen and pay attention”, says Coach George Raveling.
Is deep listening a lost skill? What’s all the fuss about listening?
What about those conversations that just suck? The conversation partner is only interested in unloading his garbage on you, sucking up your time and wasting your energy. A one-way street in which your role is to replace the wall at the end of the street, so it doesn’t look so stupid for the other party to talk to a wall.
Do we really need to be the good listeners in these situations?
These are the situations where you want to remove yourself from the conversation, with kindness and determination, just as you would remove a tick from your skin, carefully twisting it and slowly pulling out, without offending anybody.
Think about the way you listen. Most of don’t really listen or don’t get out of a conversation. We are moving somewhat between those spheres, which is a waste of time
Either you listen with commitment and you get something out of it (we discuss this later) or you realize the conversation is a dead end and you remove yourself from it.
Here are two typical scenarios how we listen in our daily life — which doesn’t help anybody.
Listening And Multitasking Is Like Driving Without Watching The Road
We listen about 60 percent of our communication time and retain only 25 percent of what we hear. We all listen to some degree, but not with much attention. So, we are not superb at listening. That requires time and the willingness to step into an uncomfortable zone.
