When it comes to Listening. Are YOU an artist?
I was in a discussion with some of my coaching colleagues recently.
The topic was LISTENING.
A topic that I had recently explored in one of my earlier blogs
Wait! Why AM I TALKING?
During our discussion, one of those colleagues,
shared what I found to be,
a very powerful quote from someone.
And that someone, an actor, was Alan Alda,
and it went like this;
“The difference between listening and pretending to listen,
I discovered, is enormous.
One is fluid, the other is rigid.
One is alive, the other is stuffed.
Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking about listening.
Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.
When I am willing to let them change me, something happens between us
that’s more interesting than a pair of dueling monologues”.
Wow! And that, from Hawkeye Pierce from M.A.S.H. 😊
I am going to have to take a peek at some of his other quotes.
But for now, back to listening.
Or, “The art of Listening”,
as mentioned in the book; “Emotional Intelligence 2.0”
by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves.
PRACTICING the “Art of Listening is Strategy #11 of the 66 strategies that
the authors outline in that book.
66 strategies that allow us, if we so choose to, to increase
our Emotional Intelligence (as measured by our EQ).
And the good news is,
Our EQ can be improved upon, through PRACTICE.
And, as they outline on page 20 of their book,
“EQ …..accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs”.
O.k.! Sounds like something worthwhile to practice.
In this case, Practicing Strategy #11,
Practicing, the Art of Listening.
Here is one suggestion that they share that I particularly liked.
“When your son asks you a question,
put your laptop down and look at him while you respond.”
Note to Self. Don’t just like it. Practice it! With YOUR son!
And while I am practicing,
I am going to try and remember that Alan Alda quote,
and I am going to try and keep an open mind,
and a willingness to change.
Enjoy the read(s), and,
YOUR Learning and Growing that comes from Practicing, if YOU decide to do so 😊
Oh. And……
If YOU would like to further explore how YOU can build upon YOUR EQ?
Or another change that is important to YOU!
Reach out to ME, and we can discuss the best way to go about it. YOUR best way to go about it.
Start YOUR Journey of change by scheduling an initial (and complimentary) 30-minute coaching call now
Cheers
Dave
Dave Walker
Career, Life and Leadership Transition Coach
& “HALFTIME” Life Journey Coach
My Individual and Group Coaching offerings are part of my “virtual” global practice serving clients worldwide through Video or Voice only (whatever YOU feel most comfortable with).
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