I received Listening Well vs. Talking Well in my email and I thought it was good enough to pass this on to others.

Listening Well vs. Talking Well
April 28, 2008

Listening well is as powerful a means of communication and
influence as to talk well. — John Marshall

Talking well really means that there is someone on the other end
who is interested enough to listen well to that message. When a
person attends a conference which hosts a speaker and they come
back saying that the speaker was really good – they were simply
interested enough to offer much attention to the speaker and to
what was being said.

We all have different interests. Even those who have no interests
are unique individuals. Only when we begin to think and believe that
we are like everyone else, or not as good as everyone else do we
start to loose our idividuality and thus our own uniqueness and thus
our own point of view and thus our own interests. But in all actuality
each one’s individuality cannot be erased. It remains within the
individual. A permanent mark – the branding of the Lord.

Take a moment to examine the leaves of a tree. No two leaves are
exactly alike. Each one is different from the other in some way – even
if those differences are very small, they are differences none the less.
So each one has a different angle toward the sun, each one is
attached to the branch at a different angle and gets its nutrients
from a different section of the tree. So, just like the leaves we each
have our own interests – areas of concern or of subject that we are
happy to place our attention on and in. Because our attention is
being cast outward from our viewpoint – no two people can cast that
attention from exactly the same spot. Therefore we each have our own
unique vantage point from which we can give attention and interest.

Should many people hear one speaker, we all know that there will be
varying points of view as to how good his message was. Why? Because
we all have our own unique point of view – no two are exactly alike.

The same thing can be said of talking well for it is the speaker who is
listening to himeself, to his heart, mind and soul well that can deliver
a good message. To the degree he can listen well to himself, his
message will be generally a good one. So the bottom line here is…

Listen more – and listen well. Invest your attention wisely for it is
your most valuable asset.

Darren J Smalley – Listening Specialist
“I am here to listen to you.”
Website: Click Here
Skype: darren.j.smalley