Five years ago, I had the honour of working with a leadership coach who casually dropped the statement “most of my client’s problems could be solved by effective listening”. Being someone who coaches and presents keynotes in the field of stress management, it was a light-bulb moment! If effective listening can eliminate the majority of problems and improve the quality our careers and personal lives, imagine what role listening can play in reducing stress!
I rated myself as a good listener until I started self-monitoring my listening skills. I confess that they didn’t make the grade in fact….in some cases they were really lousy….especially when I was communicating with my husband! I admittedly would assume (makes an a-s-s out of you and me) I knew what he was thinking and what he was going to say I made the oh, so common mistake of half listening or being a lazy listener. I also noticed when working with clients, I needed to dig more into their concerns regarding what they were looking for, ask more open-ended questions and then listen with humility and focus. When I did this, I didn’t stress as to whether I was covering all my bases as a facilitator because I was confident that I had through effective listening. Listening truly increased my confidence and decreased my stress!
Bottom line? Be an astonishingly amazing listener!
Being an astonishingly amazing listener is not easy. It takes introspection, patience and time…but the effort is career and life changing.
· An astonishingly amazing listener builds and maintains clients and friendships and who doesn’t need more clients and friendships??
· An astonishingly amazing listener brings focus to the present moment and only that moment, stopping the mind chatter and mindfully zoning in on the speaker. This screams RESPECT….the greatest gift you can give anyone!
· An astonishingly amazing listener makes you and your business stand out in a crowded playing field.
· An astonishingly amazing listener is a Sherlock Holmes: curious, engaged and committed to the task of gaining understanding.
For coaching, keynotes and workshops on how you and/or your employees can increase the bottom line and decrease stress in your personal and professional lives through the power of Astonishingly Amazing Listening, contact me today. I promise I will use my astonishingly amazing listening skills!