Art of listening

There are times when I meet people who speak and only speak. I am sure we have actually gotten phone calls from people who speak and speak and somehow whatever you say hits the wall. There are times when you know this person is not going to get the point you are trying to make just because he didn't learn the art of listening in school. Hearing out the other person out is a skill and making mental notes of the conversation helps a lot especially when you are discussing something important. Try this voluntarily if this is not a skill with you. Most people over-rate speaking and keep speaking to look smart while speaking kind of exposes their dumb side. Learn to stay silent, listen to others intently and you will end up looking the smartest and making the most valid points. Same applies for students, some people seem to speak rather than listen and they come to me for counseling and keep telling me, what all they know, don’t allow me to speak. See the paradox, you go to someone for advice and you don’t listen to him at all, you just keep talking, at times I just go blunt on them by saying if you know it all, why are you not getting the required results. Mostly I get them to listen to sense and trust me that works wonders. Listening is so common sense and yet good listeners are uncommon. Good listeners actually listen beyond words, read between lines and get the most out of the conversation. Like it is often quoted, “there's a lot of difference between listening and hearing.” And I feel that somehow makes a huge difference in where you end up finally.

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