Attentive Listening

Whether it be job interviews or simple conversations, more and more people I find are truly lacking in attentive and intentional listening.  They’re distracted by other things.  They are keen and intent (bad pun) on saying what they want to say and not simply listening to what the other person is saying.  They are failing to acknowledge the other person’s point. This is beyond tact versus tactless. This is a big issue and generationally, alas, it does seem to be getting worse.  Smartphones, text-based communication, distractions, and attention-demanding “everything” around us is surely to blame. Take a pause, listen, don’t jump to conclusions, don’t jump to what you wish to say irrespective of where the conversation is going, don’t talk over people, and show them your undivided — and undistracted — attention.  While I would argue this is expected, common, regular and “of course” type counsel – doing so will separate you from what the “norm” seems to be these days.