Hone Your Listening Skills To Boost Your Career

Good listening is crucial to effective communication and career success. However, only about 10% of us listen properly. Most of us don’t know how to listen intelligently, systematically and purposefully.

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Think about your most recent conversations at work. If you remember what you said better than what you heard, you’ve probably developed some pretty bad listening habits. Instead of really listening, you let your mind wander while others were talking. You were thinking about what you were going to say before the others had finished. Poor listening can cause snafus in the office such as missing important appointments, misunderstanding directions, misinterpreting valuable suggestions or addressing the wrong problems.

There is little doubt that disgraceful listening habits have hindered many managerial careers. According to several estimates, about 45% of a manager’s typical day is spent listening. Some managers believe they earn up to 60% […]