Focus of the book is to bring it to your attention the most underrated skill of Listening. If you develop the skill of listening, your path to progress in personal and professional life will get impetus for an accelerated growth. Developing listening skill can change the course of your life, can take you to greater heights and increase your likability index to an exceedingly prominent level. Listening does not require any talent; it is a habit if developed from early days can impact your career.
Listening is effortless, unlike reading which requires effort. Listening adds value to your skill sets. Listening helps you build relations. Listening enhances your personal brand image. Listening helps in solving many problems existent or imaginary. You will undergo many stages in your life, many events in your life where you need to listen attentively, casually, comprehensively, critically, actively, empathetically, and in many other modes. In case you are in a leadership role, and you do not listen to the persons in your team, or encourage them to speak, your leadership may not last for long. In case you are a salesperson and prefer to speak more than you listen to prospective customers, you may be found wanting in your skill sets. Have seen quite a few salespersons who speak endlessly to make a pitch about their product or proposal without any break. Their intent is to offload the entire office information, data, and prices etc. to the customer at the first opportunity. This does not help in taking any deal forward or closing the deal. Always seek to understand before making another person understand as to what you are wanting to say.
Listening at times is more powerful than speaking.HR guy who sermonizes more than to listen to understand the real difficulties an operating guy is facing may soon become the most unpopular person. Listening is the key to resolve all contentious issues. Listening is the key for holding a crucial conversation where rewards are much higher than risk involved.
All leadership principles and other associated parameters for the success of business namely: Customer obsession’
Curiosity Bias for action
Dive deep
Motivating
Understanding market
Price, place, and promotion require listening.
Talk to your self-tonight and figure out if you listen more or talk more. If later is the case, do step back and reconsider your ways of working. This is true whether you have just started your job at the basic level or are in the middle management or top level. Have worked with dozens of bosses or leaders in my lengthy career of few decades in downstream of Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals business, my conviction remains that accomplished professional managers listen more and talk less. They adopt diverse ways to listen as described in the later part of the book.
This book is for you if you are in the business of getting yes from people. In fact, all of us are in the business of getting yes from our bosses, peers, team members, family members and from our children. This trait is needed for all times. Getting yes is not just speaking out your point of view or the proposal you have in mind, it is much more than that. You need to connect with people and listen to them as to what is their perspective on the issue you wish to get a nod. Listening helps a lot in connecting with people. Listen uninterrupted, ask questions to understand more about other persons perspective, appreciate his viewpoint, do this regularly for few meetings and you would have established the best of relations. You connect with the persons by listening to them and not speaking to them. Getting yes once the relation is proven is far easier and quicker.
“Mastering the art of listening brings so many benefits to your life and lives of those around you.”
This book is for you if you open your mouth at the drop of a hat to speak and speak whatever comes to your mind. You may be good at speaking but that alone is not enough in personal and professional life.
Harsha BhogIe, commentator, guest speaker, motivator who speaks so well while covering events has the following to say:
I am in the business of talking, but I feel listening is by far superior skill.
This book is for you if you are convinced that only speaking helps, and others must listen. By speaking all the time and not listening you are stagnant in your life, because without listening you will not get anything new from anyone. By not listening, you may be denying yourself an opportunity to take your life on a superhighway.
This book is for you if you think you must speak your heart out about a situation or an event that is going on.
This book is for you if you think nobody listens in this world. Everyone has his or own agenda to pull on.
This book is for you if you start speaking before other person has finished his piece of conversation.
