One of the absolute most important things you can do for another person is listen to them.
Hearing is a gift…listening is a skill. By nature we humans are a tad bit self-focused…so this makes listening a bit of a challenge. Us natural introverts…yes I am whether you know it (or believe it:) or not…anyway, us introverts tend to be pretty good listeners naturally because we would rather have the focus be on you than on us…and listening allows us to be quiet because the other person does all the talking!
The beauty of this is that listening is a primary tool in success and leadership. Of course, for introverts, this tool is useless unless you can learn to engage people or develop something worth following but that’s not the point of this post. The point is learning to be a GREAT listener. I’ve written and taught entire courses on this subject, so its too big a topic to eat the whole elephant right now. Today I’m going to give you just one thing you can do and it comes from observing one of my favorite people on this planet.
My friend and team-partner Gabi Winkler is a spectacular listener. She is the best I have ever seen and I have worked with and observed thousands upon thousand of people. When Gabi is in a conversation with you, you feel like you are the only person in the world at this moment. Every ounce of her attention and focus is on you. And this is the point. There are lots of aspects that create this…at least a dozen keys to this…and Gabi does them all…every time.
So here’s a little homework for you to become a GREAT listener. For today, every personal conversation you are in, make an all out effort to make the other person feel like they are the only person in the world at this moment. You’ll naturally do a lot of the key listening fundamentals by approaching it this way. So just today, try this. And then let me know what happens in the day…I bet you will have some of the best interactions you have had in a long time.
