Are we good listeners?

by **Chatterbox** » Thu May 01, 2003 9:32 am

If there\'s one thing common to lots of ppl, its this- \"Everyone wants to be heard\". You must have heard about the \"why do we have 2 ears and 1 mouth\" line. Its so that we can hear twice as much as we can speak. Do we put it to practice? I have to sheepishly admit that I don\'t always.How many times have u cut short a person, bcoz u\'ve felt the need to yap? The art of \"listening\" is dying.

by **Z C** » Sat May 03, 2003 9:12 am

Let\'s take this as an example: you are bargaining at KOTI or at an exhibition and are just listening and not talking... how much will you end up paying for the product you want to buy? Having a Big Mouth is different from being able to talk more and let others talk less. There is a thin line between the two. In a GD, who will be selected? The one who makes sense the most. To make sense, you need to talk(mostly). Listen, of course, but talking pays you more dividends.

by **Anil** » Sat May 03, 2003 9:44 am

\"It is the province of knowledge to speak. And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.\" Oliver Wendell Holmes \"Man\'s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.\" Carl Rogers \"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.\" Winston Churchill \"Big egos have little ears.\"Robert Schuller \"A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.\" Who speaks, sows; Who listens, reaps.

by **Z C** » Sat May 03, 2003 9:48 am

All citations are good. Didn\'t exactly get what you meant by reaping. In what sense? Examples please...

by **Anil** » Sat May 03, 2003 8:31 pm

A speaker \"sows\" the seeds for various ideas. An attentive listener is the only one who can reap the benefits out of them. For e.g., you attend a conference where in there are scientists of exceptional calibre giving lectures about the future potential of science, etc. An attentive listener can catch the cues and act on them or these cues might ignite new ideas which in turn might end up as new innovations, inventions or discoveries.

by **Z C** » Sun May 04, 2003 7:51 am

U attend a gathering wherein a corrupt person is giving a talk, u know its all crap and u r powerful enough to contradict him, but what if u dont do it ? in this case silence takes u and others into accepting what is says. and some people may actually end up following what he says!!

by **Anil** » Sun May 04, 2003 9:33 am

When we refer to being a good listener we mean an effective listener. And just because you listen attentively doesn\'t mean you have to follow it.You listen effectively and you decide for yourself. If you are powerful enough and you think you can do something about it nobody\'s stopping you. By the way, even to know that someone is speaking non-sense, you do have to listen carefully, at least once, isn\'t it?. Then only, you can avoid it or do something against it. Good listening and blindly following someone are entirely different. Good listening doesn\'t mean being spineless. And good listening doesn\'t mean you have to do only listening and no speaking. Good listening means listen to the opposite person also, give others also a chance and you don\'t indulge in all the talking. Lastly, good listening means being receptive, lest you lose those simple cues, which could be really worthy!

by **Z C** » Sun May 04, 2003 9:49 am

Getting into the Egg and Chicken problem... Which came first and which is important!!

by **Anil** » Sun May 04, 2003 7:49 pm

Oh yeah! totally agree with you! Its dicey sometimes. The bottom-line then is, SELECTIVE, EFFECTIVE LISTENING.

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