The Skill of Selective Listening

I have always been a fan of using other people's experiences to guide my own.

It's probably the student in me that comes out that say to myself, "If this guy screwed it up or got it right, let's take some notes and learn from him." Jim Rohn has a wonderful CD series called Challenge to Succeed.

In there he mentions the skill of selective listening. We have to become selective listeners. We have to tune people out in order to tune the better one in.

Yesterday I talked with a manager who wasn't really sure what he wanted to do and after talking to me I could tell he walked away encouraged from the conversation. I left the conversation encouraged. Listening to him was one of the best uses of my time. And from my seat, he wanted to share what was on his mind.

I got an award once based off of my ability to encourage people. So this is my encouragement to you, become a world class listener. Two ears, one mouth. Two eyes, one mouth. You can do more by watching and listening than you can by speaking.

In the comment section below, tell me about a favorite failure of when you spoke to soon, or didn't speak and should have. I would love to hear about your listening stories!