February 10 - Listening III

Thanks for Listening

The last two days I have wrote about listening. I have taught listening skills for years to Customer Service Representatives. I have received feedback from customers, representative, co-workers and in performance reviews that I am an excellent listener. I enjoy listening to people share their feelings and tell their stories. Listening is a skill and I do a good job listening at work.

Unfortunately, I feel like I often leave that skill in the office. For some reason, I do not always take my listening skills home with me. Why do I, like so many people, stop truly listening to the people that mean the most to me? Do I have too many barriers to listen? Do I think I know what they are going to say, so why listen? Am I focusing on what I am going to tell them, instead of what I am going to ask them? Am I too busy to engage in a focused conversation?

I think my problem in listening is a common problem for many women.
· We are busy all day.
· We work all day.
· We listen to people all day.
· We are nice all day.
When we get home we just want someone to listen to us, at least I do. I have learned the hard way, that taking time to listen to my family, the most important people in my life, gives me joy.

Thanks for listening.

Blessings
Robin