You Can't Hear Me Either

This photograph was taken just outside the Guinness factory in Dublin, Ireland in 2013. Spray painted in sign language it says, "You Can’t Hear Me Either." A very poignant statement both visually and contextually.

It's obvious this person was trying to make a statement to another person, or community. I have looked at this picture several times over the past 18 months and wondered if the person who left the message was, in fact, ever heard?

What I love about sign language is that it forces those communicating to actively participate in the conversation being held. You have to look at the person signing to fully understand what they are trying to tell you. The more animated the signs, the more inflection and meaning the context of the conversation.

Which leads me to ask, are you actively engaging in conversations?

Like many people I have trouble focusing during conversations. One reason is that I have some hearing loss and struggle in large spaces with lots of people talking, or music playing. I have learned to read lips, but not well. However, another reason is that there are too many distractions in our lives today.

Distractions such as: Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Outlook, Gmail, Google, Yahoo, ITunes, Apps of all shapes and colors, TV, Radio, NetFlix, Children, Parents, Siblings, Significant others, School, Sports.......

You get the picture.

Listening and hearing are two different things. I can listen to the radio or TV while I work, but ask me what song was just playing, or what they just said on TV and I couldn't tell you. I was listening, but I wasn't hearing.

You have to actively listen to hear what is being said, and sometimes it’s what's not being said that's heard the loudest.

My Uncle Jim was an avid active listener. He had an incurable curiosity about people and would sit and listen to people all day. My cousins shared a story with me about returning a printer cartridge to a local store for a refund after his death. When the young lady at the counter asked why he did not return the cartridge himself she broke into tears when told of his passing.

This is the power that active listening, and hearing what people are saying, can have on a person or a business.

Are you listening to your employees, coworkers, suppliers and customers?

Are you hearing what they are telling you, or not telling you?

Set a goal for 2015 to become a better listener!