I’ve come to realize that listening is a rare art form these days… The average person engages in conversation, only to partially listen to the other party while planning the next thing to say. I have been just as guilty of this as anyone in the past. The more that one learns about human behavior, the easier it is to spot someone’s “that’s great, but when I did it, I…” look. It seems as if we get so burned out on listening as kids that we fail to realize just how important it is in our daily lives.

As someone with an extensive sales background, I’ve found that the number one reason salespeople quit is that they are frustrated that they can’t close the sale. In reality, they are right. They can’t close the sale on someone who doesn’t feel valued. What person wants to buy from a salesperson that doesn’t listen to what the potential buyer has to say?

So many of my former colleagues came and went due to never finding out the value of closing their mouths and opening their ears. I sold cellphones and learned to educate the customers. I listened to their concerns and addressed them, resulting in multiple referrals from happy customers.

I made my manager proud - until he thought, “If she just cuts down the amount of time teaching the customers and more time selling them, she’d sell more.” I didn’t buy into that philosophy and left the company shortly thereafter. The main reason I sold so much was because people trusted me because I listened to their concerns, their apprehension about buying, and they rewarded me by allowing me to help them.

Listening to others is something I believe we can all benefit from in our daily lives. I know my life has become so much richer since I learned to listen instead of preparing my next thought.

One thing we must not forget is to listen to ourselves. That inner voice that guides us. The one we sometimes want to strangle because it’s become a “Doubting Thomas.” It’s amazing how that voice reflects our self-worth. When we are down, the inner voice treats us worse than we would treat our worst enemy, and when we are on top of the world, you’d think we were “all that.” (of course, some of us really are, but that’s another story! Ok, so that’s a lame attempt at humor…)

The main point is to keep our ears open and our mouths closed a little more often and see just what we have been missing… It could open up a whole new world for you…

I know it has for me…