SUCCESS CARD 28: Listen to Learn

Listening is at the center of every move you make and, therefore, one of the most challenging hands to play. Listening will distinguish you as a key player, move you toward your goal, and establish your success. Nobody succeeds alone. You make decisions and choices based on listening to others. Dramatist Wilson Mizner once said, “A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after awhile he gets to know something.”^[1] The good listener is popular and does learn a lot, yet when you ask people what causes communication problems in their lives, many will say, “Nobody listens.” Social psychologists such as Ralph Nichols have studied listening valiantly since the 1950s, and it continues to be one of the most requested topics of today's professional development seminar audiences. No role in life or work can be successful without listening. No successful move can be made without listening.

If you've been in the game for a while, you've probably developed some habits that reveal your listening skill. Which habits are most like yours, those in column A or B?