A Foundation for Good Communication
Listening is a key foundation for good communication skills.
How often do we hear someone but not listen to them; unfortunately, we all are guilty of this because society does not value listening as a primary foundation of good communication. Please keep in mind hearing is not listening. As we listen, we move from passive to active behavior, becoming better communicators.
Recently, I attended a pre-summit for coaches; one of the sessions was a conscious listening and powerful speaking presentation; our speaker, Julian Treasure, spoke on the failure of our school systems to teach listening skills; during his presentation, he stated that some public speaking is part of schools' curriculums, but little to none on conscious listening; this omission sets a foundation for failure in effective communication.
Think of all the times we hear things, but do we ask ourselves, are we listening consciously; there are many things causing distractions in our lives; as we fail to focus when we listen to someone, how do we achieve mutual recognition and respect for each other; we cannot. As we learn skills to listen to each other, we reach a place of mutual respect by validating the person or people in our presence. Thus, we create a foundation of solid communication.