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I was reminded how important it is to listen more than I talk.
One of my favorite business writers of all-time is Tom Peters. His books have made me think and rethink concepts over and over. Everytime I go back and reread one of his books I find myself relearning the same concepts that were stressed 20 to 30 years ago. Recently, I went to Tom Peter’s YouTube Channel and I watched his message about being quiet. Tom is totally right, in a world of noise, it is more important than ever to just shut up and listen now more than ever.
When was the last time you were quiet long enough that there was an awkward silence? If you are honest with yourself, you may discover that it has been awhile.
Here are some benefits to being able to shut up.
When someone has an idea, let the person finish. Take some notes and determine the validity of the idea at a later time. The worse thing you can do is to interrupt or worse yet, dismiss the idea from the start. Shut up and listen.
As you plan out your own day, shut up and really listen to the needs of your internal and external clients. What should your priorities be? Where are you spending your time? Listen more and stop trying to self-talk your way into catering to your own needs.
Think about that person who talks all the time and controls the conversation. Are these the type of people you want to work with? Sometimes, in these cases, by not saying anything, the person actually thinks you agree with everything they are saying. These are the people you need to really avoid and keep quiet more. Also, these type of people generally are people who are all talk and no action. Try to cut the conversation short and move on.
There also people who state all of their emotions on their Facebook or Twitter posts. These type of people you also want to avoid, even if you agree with what they are saying, you never want to show your emotions and words by jumping on the bandwagon or strongly disagreeing with them. Emotions come and go. However, people’s memories of your comments may still linger and no one can afford negative publicity.
When a client complains, make sure you shut up and listen to the entire arguement. Most of the time, when we do not listen fully to the client’s complaint we really do a disservice and do not find out what the real root cause of the issue is.
For those of you who have an active prayer life, shut up and listen by reading scripture and praying for the needs of others. I have found when I shut up about my needs, I see the world in a whole new light.
If you have a family, make sure the first thing you do when you get home is listen to the wants, needs and experiences of your other family members. Sometimes, this information can be the most refreshing news of the day. Shut up and listen.
Summary
As you can see, if you focus on SHUT UP! as a goal, it may helpf you put things in a much better perspective.
Picture Source: Pixabay
