President's Perspective: Listen up and take notes

WANTED: A good listener

In a world where we are all consumed by choices, options, opportunities, and decisions, it can be difficult to take a minute to sit and listen. We have turned into a society that “looks out for number one,” which creates people who take into consideration how things make them feel, before they consider how they make others feel. This can contribute to the lack of listening skills that we see each and every day.

I am a self-admitted poor listener. As much as I try to pay attention, I can often find myself drifting off into different realms of my own imagination. I spend 80 per cent of my day listening, and taking-in information. So this can sometimes be a problem. I often feel that I have so much on my plate in all the different aspects of my life that it's hard to concentrate on just one for a lengthy period of time. That, and I can usually decide if a topic is important to me within about 10 minutes of being involved in it. If it is something that I feel I am not going to learn anything from, chances are, I am no longer paying attention. Especially in classes, this is not good. Not good at all. Everyone always says in relationships that they want someone who is a “good listener.” Guys, I get it, it can be difficult. Girls can go on and on about the most random topics that you care nothing about. But it's true that we still want to think you are at least taking in what we have to say. Bonus points for asking questions and engaging us. So if everyone is looking for a good listener, doesn't that mean we all need to start sharpening our listening skills?

One important thing I have learned is that if you are a poor listener, you need to recognize this and take steps to improve it. I WANT to be a good listener. I WANT to take in what people tell me. And I WANT to engage others in conversation. So now that I have accepted that I want this to change, I can probably accomplish my goal that much easier. I have learned to curb some of my listening skills by paying close attention and taking lots of notes. That way, I can always reference what someone said. So even if I forget something that happened in a meeting, chances are, I wrote it down. By taking notes it further engages me into what someone is saying, and I find that it helps me ask questions and learn more about exactly the point they are trying to get across.

It is important to be a good listener, and if you aren't, then you need to address the ways that you can become a better listener. It will help you in your job, relationships, in your day to day activities and being a good listener makes other people feel good.