5 VITAL LISTENING FACTS

Facts about listening can be surprising. The following 5 facts are vital to establishing your personal foundation for practical application and listening growth: 1. Listening is our primary com­munication activity. We spend 80 percent of our waking hours communicating. At least 45 percent of that time is spent listening. Listening is central to our personal […]

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Listening Fortune Message

An office manager at a major Life Insurance Company uses a creative way to peak her associates’ interest in the areas of listening and customer service. At the conclusion of each weekly team meeting, she puts a number of “listening fortune messages” that she develops in the center of the table. She got the idea […]

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A SIMPLE WAY TO THINK ABOUT LISTENING

According to leadership consultant Steve Anason, here’s a simple way to think about listening – realize that people only want to tell you one of three things: facts, opinions, or feelings. Your job is to listen for all three, and interpret the message for meaning and purpose. Here’s the critical link: Effective listening happens when […]

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LISTEN AND GENERATE GREATNESS

What does it mean to practice listening greatness? There are  three main factors: First and foremost, great listeners choose to improve their listening attitudes and refine specific listening skills. They consistently and systematically focus on the multiple intents, thoughts, desires, and concerns of others. They project energy in the commitment to listen fully to others. […]

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CULTIVATE THE COURAGE TO LISTEN

Listening Leaders confront conflicts by consciously cultivating courage. In environments of unending conflict, effective listeners meet the harshness of words and actions of others with courageous acts and actions of listening. Although most leaders remember the old adage: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” most listeners also recognize […]

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GIVE THE GIFT OF LISTENING

J.W. Marriott, Jr. is Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Marriott International, Inc., the largest lodging company in the world.  In this excerpt,  he captures the essence of listening.  When was the last time you sat down with another human being and listened — truly listened — to what he or she had […]

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LISTEN WITH COMMITMENT

Jack Lowe Jr. is the former CEO of Dallas-based TDIndustries, one of America’s premier contracting and facility service companies. Jack understands the value of listening commitment. Rated by FORTUNE magazine as one of the TOP 100 Best Companies to Work for in America”. TDIndustries has consistently been in the top ten since 1998. When asked, […]

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DONT’ GET FURIOUS – GET CURIOUS

When you want to hear from others (and you should because it adds to the pool of meaning), the best way to get at the truth is by making it safe for them to express the stories that are moving them to silence or violence. This means that at the very moment when most people […]

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CREDIBLE LEADERS LISTEN AND LEARN

Impressive listening skills have been identified as one common characteristic of credible leaders. A willingness to listen carefully to constituents and, if necessary, to hear the bad news keeps leaders from being isolated from critical feedback. When they can get information from a variety of sources, across functions and levels, they are able to know […]

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LISTEN TO YOUR ECHO

A son and his father were walking on the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” Curious, he yells: “Who are you?” He receives the answer: “Who are you?” Angered at the response, he screams: “Coward!” He receives the […]

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