Improve your listening skills by eliminating these bad habits [Ian's Messy Desk]

One of my favourite Far Side cartoons has two grizzled sailors sitting at the bar; one has a peg leg, the other a peg head. The fellow with the peg leg says to the other, “That’s nothing, let me tell you how I got this.” while pointing to his wooden leg.

In their book, Listen Up : How To Improve Relationships, Reduce Stress, Barker and Watson say that trying to top the other person’s story is one of those irritating habits that interferes with our ability to listen well.

If you want to improve your listening skills, you need to get control over the following bad habits:

1. Interrupting the speaker.
2. Not looking at the speaker.
3. Rushing the speaker and making him feel that he’s wasting the listener’s time.
4. Showing interest in something other than the conversation.
5. Getting ahead of the speaker and finishing her thoughts.
6. Not responding to the speaker’s requests.
7. Saying, “Yes, but . . .,” as if the listener has made up his mind.
8. Topping the speaker’s story with “That reminds me. . .” or “That’s nothing, let me tell you about. . .”
9. Forgetting what was talked about previously.
10. Asking too many questions about details.

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Original post here: Ian McKenzie

4 June 2007 | Communications, Tips | Comments