{"id":482,"date":"2010-07-22T00:45:30","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T07:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertfagan.com\/?p=482"},"modified":"2011-10-26T07:56:49","modified_gmt":"2011-10-26T14:56:49","slug":"listening-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/coaching\/golf-coaching\/482\/listening-for-success","title":{"rendered":"Listening For Success!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We\u2019ve all been told how important the skill of listening is and doubtless we all can improve in this area.\u00a0 Our success in every area of work and all our relationships will improve if we follow some of these simple guidelines.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Commit to improving<\/strong> your listening.\u00a0 Only when the pain of failure or embarrassment is lurking do we usually make this commitment.\u00a0 Why not commit right now?<\/li>\n
  2. Limit your talking. <\/strong>You\u2019ve likely already heard that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t obvious that you can\u2019t listen to anyone else when you\u2019re talking?<\/li>\n
  3. Stop worrying about what you are going to say.<\/strong> Your mind works more quickly than you may have imagined.\u00a0 When you actually let the other person finish, they may have conveyed something important that you may have otherwise missed while trying to conjure up your answer.<\/li>\n
  4. Stop judging<\/strong> or listening for evidence of what you anticipated the speaker to say.\u00a0 That sabotages the listening process.\u00a0 Put yourself in the other’s shoes and you may derive a totally different message.<\/li>\n
  5. Look to learn<\/strong> from the exchange.\u00a0 Too often we assume that what we have to say is more important than what the other person is communicating.\u00a0 Instead look to learn something from every encounter.\u00a0 When in doubt, be curious and not furious about the message.<\/li>\n
  6. Assume a listening posture.<\/strong> Position your body toward the speaker and focus your face and eyes squarely toward them.\u00a0 Keep in eye contact, and smile and nod to let them know you are following them.<\/li>\n
  7. Focus on the speaker\u2019s words.<\/strong> Sure you can think much faster than others are talking, but allowing yourself to do so only takes you into distraction that include other noises or the speaker\u2019s own idiosyncrasies.<\/li>\n
  8. Monitor the other person\u2019s body language and tone.<\/strong> Often it is more important to grasp how something is stated and delivered rather than what.<\/li>\n
  9. Hold your tongue.<\/strong> When someone says something that troubles, excites, or pleases you, resist the temptation to interrupt.\u00a0 Doing so may not only distract them, but could risk angering, disappointing, or confusing them.<\/li>\n
  10. Ask clarifying questions<\/strong> to make sure you are grasping the speaker\u2019s message. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou mean that\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow does that relate to\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 This means that you should avoid making assumptions about what the person is about to or has said.<\/li>\n
  11. Tell the speaker what you heard.<\/strong> Remember that communicating is a two-way street.\u00a0 Doing so gives both of you the opportunity to sidestep any misunderstandings.<\/li>\n
  12. Be enthusiastic<\/strong> in your listening.\u00a0 Be fun and have fun when appropriate, and serious when necessary, but always remain engaged.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Outstanding listening can pay dividends in every area of your business and life, and the skills can be mastered by anyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We\u2019ve all been told how important the skill of listening is and doubtless we all can improve in this area.\u00a0… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":3351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2248,2108,2109],"tags":[2575],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-coaching","category-golf-coaching","category-life-coaching","tag-listening"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2011\/04\/listening3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5959,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions\/5959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}