Are you listening? I realized I was not!

I thought I was listening until I found out that I was not listening good enough! Yes, even through by profession I am meant to be a deep listener, I was not.

I am currently working on a new program for my India retreat February 2018 : How to be a person of Influence.

One of the main skills you need to develop to become a person of influence is the skill of listening.

It is irrelevant where you are in your life, wherever you are, you have goals. As a parent as a business owner, as an employer or as an employee, you have goals and you are influencing people anyway. Sometimes your influence is positive other times negative.

No matter what stage you are in your life you can learn these sets of skills and start becoming a person of influence. To achieve your goals faster, to contribute to other and have a long lasting effect, you need to develop your influencing skills.

Even if you had a negative effect on others in the past, you can turn that around and make your impact a positive one- John Maxwell.

Before I proceed let me share that there is a huge difference between influence and manipulation and the difference lies in one word, integrity, I will discuss this in a different blog, integrity and its importance in becoming a person of influence.

How do you know if you are listening or not? Few examples:

· Do you connect with the speaker, look at him or her while speaking?

· Do you wait till they finish to respond?

· Do you make understating your goal?

· Are you sensitive to the speaker’s immediate needs?

· Do you suspend judgment till you get the whole story?

· Do you ask questions for clarity?

True listening is one of the biggest gifts you can give a human being!

So listen!

Listen with a heart and mind connection

Listen with the intention to understand

Listen to both the words and the emotions

Listen with your eyes and your hearing will improve

Listen, as you would like to be listened to.

Have a wonderful day.