Listening – To improve your life, sharpen your listening skill

I remind myself every morning: nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I am going to learn, I must do it by listening. These are the words of Larry King, an America Television and radio host, whose work has been recognized with several awards.

I would like you to ask yourself this simple question. Am I a good listener? You can go ahead and answer yourself. I can bet many are not sure of their response to the question.  Many might say “what kind of question is this” or “what is the need for this question”?  No other reason, than for you to consciously meditate over it. Take a minute to think about the question. I guess you must have given it a thought. If you do fine and if otherwise, I believe after reading this you would have learnt something new. 

What is listening?

Simply put listening means taking a second to think about or consider what other people are saying, not just hearing the words. It’s unfortunate, many individual don’t listen, you find them interrupting you every now and then in a discussion. This is not good; it deprives both parties involved of better communication.

Effective listening is one of the most important skills an individual can have and should have and everyone who wants to enjoy better communication need to develop it. My experience as a Clinical Audiologist and an Auditory Rehab Therapist has thought me to appreciate the gift of hearing and to be a good listener. I do a lot of talking and listening every day. God has given us the natural gift of hearing, but we need to develop the art of effective listening. We need to be a better listener. 

To individual with impaired hearing, it takes a lot effort and energy to enjoy better communication. Though advance tech in the form hearing devices can help improve hearing, however, a lot of effort has to be put into developing effective listening skills to enjoy better communication. 

The popularity of social media today has thought us that people like to be heard and the same holds true for people around us. How good is your listening skill when communicating with your spouse, parents, friends, co-workers e.t.c.?  Researches indicate that, listening is a top skill needed for success in all relationship and business, yet a lot of individual don’t find the skill important. If you would have to learn it, then go and learn it and make your life relationship better. 

Overlooking the importance of listening can have costly consequences. People lose their relationship, families break up, children and teenagers find solace in talking to outsiders who eventually might lead them astray or worst still take advantage of them because their parent are too busy to listen to them.  Listening is an active interpretation that shapes our realities and it is the answer to improving our relationships.  

Listening is also important to manage the mood in a relationship. Lack of listening can result in degenerative moods among people we relate with including mistrust, whereas individual who feel listened to improved in life.Effective listening can open the door to new and better life and almost everyone can use help fine-tuning or improving their listening skill.  One just needs to make conscious effort about it and have a receptive mind to new ideas.