Becoming Successful in Life - The Importance of Listening

Before you say, "come on Paul. I know the importance of listening. I suggest you stop and really take notice of the time you're talking instead of listening. I can tell you from experience as a sales leader and manager, the best sales people are listeners. They listen for the clues and what we call buying signals. The same can be said in life outside of sales.

It takes more than being a good listener to be successful. It's very important you ask the right questions. One of my favorite sayings is. "Answers rarely appear on their own. Answers only come after you have asked a question". One tip I use when I ask questions is to wait until the individual has finished what they were saying and count to three. This will seem like an eternity but you will get better at it with time. The purpose for this is, the individual spoke about what first came to their mind. It is after this dead air that the individual will come out with more information after they had a chance to think about it deeper. This is when the real good stuff comes out. We provided them with the courtesy to finish their thought. When we listen we project trust. When there is trust, they will tell us more.

How many times in your life have you heard someone say. I can never remember names. I believe the issue is that these people are not listening. What is taking place is they are thinking about what they are going to say next. Well guess what! When your thinking about what you will say next, your not listening effectively. If you start to listen intently you will remember their name. If you listen intently you project that you really care what they have to say. If you listen intently they will tell you more than they would otherwise have said.

What does all this have to do with being successful you ask? When we are talking we are expressing what we already know. When we are listening we have the opportunity to gain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Knowledge helps us with making sound decisions in life and business.

In my opinion there are four ways to gain knowledge.

1. To be an apprentice and gain experience working beside a master.
2. Go to school. Guess what happens in school? 80 to 90 percent of the time is spent listening.
3. Read about things that will expand our knowledge and provide you with expertise. Because you want to!!
4. Listen intently from those who have knowledge and most importantly take notes when you have a chance following the conversation. Writing helps us to retain what we have heard. Think of the things we have written on napkins during a lunch meeting. Do you get my point?

In many of my recent articles I have been writing about maintaining a positive attitude. To have a positive attitude you need to be conscious of your thoughts. The same applies to listening. Slow it down and be conscious of the questions you ask and how you listen. You will find it amazing what you will learn. To be successful in life you need to be forever learning and expanding your knowledge. Being thirsty for knowledge will water the seeds of success.