Pardon the interruption… did you hear me?

Everyday we’re distracted by so many barriers to listening. Your phone, people speaking everywhere, at work, partnerships, kids, television, Internet and social media can unglue the most sane person. It reminds me of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas…noise, noise, noise!

When you’re in a conversation with a person or in a group of people, are you really listing? I mean, really listening? All of us believe we are listening. But are we?

If you’re finding yourself in any of these scenarios, you’re really not listing:

• I know what you’re saying
• Hurrying people in conversation
• Distracted by what’s going on in your head
• Looking around, but not with those in conversation
• Fidgeting as you ready yourself for flight to the nearest door
• Feeling uncomfortable with someone else’s thought you don’t agree with

The aura of communication between people is faltering. The most pervasive is with the media to drive this point. When you’re watch a news channel with the interviewer asking a specific question, the interviewee answers with a completely different response. It drives me crazy. Why couldn’t the respondent process the question to deliver an intelligent response to the question being asked?

On the other hand, interviewers many times find that the answer doesn’t fit the expectation of their question. Therefore, they merely shout down the respondent leaving me just as frustrated. Can you not hear the words leaving my lips? Sometimes, do you want to hear the words coming from my lips?

While, a short article as this raises the topic, professionals everywhere everyday are struggling with this major shortcoming in their daily lives. What’s wrong here? The lack of listening is harming relationships due to the lack of constructive dialogue that can form solutions inflecting those persons.

How can we better handle these shortcomings?

Well, shouldn’t we be listening? It’s a matter of taking the necessary time to value someone else’s time. It may sound profound, but we need to slow down to engage in the moment with the people we speak with.

What are some the possible outcomes with listening?

• Acknowledging that someone needs our assistance now or in the future
• Requires our expertise to solve a problem
• Learning not to make preconceived judgments of the person in conversation to understand their success, failure or point of view
• Focus with the moment using a clear head to listen with genuine interest
• Put yourself in the position of others that you would want to have them listen to you

Life is not a race, but a walk. You need to break from your walk to see what life is around you. Having exceptional relationships start with listening. You may find that your life gets better by doing more listening then speaking. The more engaging you are in listening the more you learn from others and about yourself.

John Smyk, CPA, MBA is the founder of IgnitingYourProfitability.com. Strategic partner for generating your profitability. Please follow my LinkedIn company page for upcoming articles and updates. Also, on facebook and twitter. https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/ignitingyourprofitability-com/