Listening is Important to Become Famous Part 4

This will more than likely be the last part of the "Listening is Important to Become Famous" series. We will go over five tools to make you a better listener and more likable in general. When you read about these tools, make a conscious effort to not only think about them but to also think about how they effect you in certain situations.


Make Listening a Conscious Choice and Not a Passive One
If you're not ready to give the human across the table the same attention you give your computer screen or iPhone, tell them that this really isn't a good time to talk. If you do decide to listen to the person, give them your fullest attention.


Put your Expectations Aside
Really listening to someone is actually listening to what they say instead of filtering what they say and trying to find what you want to hear. You wouldn't try to listen to someone at a loud event so why try to listen to someone when you are not internally quiet?


Ask Questions
It's a great idea to ask three questions about the other person while offering one piece about yourself. This is especially true when you're talking to someone who is in a position of authority. You'll be surprised how often this rule is ignored if you actually pay attention to people talking.


Maintain Eye Contact
When you maintain eye contact, you'll show the person that you're actually listening to them. If you break eye contact, you'll send a wave of hostility to the speaker.


Pay Attention and Keep Paying a Attention
When you give someone your attention, make sure you keep giving them your attention. Too often you'll see that people stop paying attention about half way through. Those people may actually just walk away mid sentence, how annoying, right? It's best to summarize what you have just heard so that you'll remember what they said.


In the end though, all you need to do is show basic respect to the speaker to be a good listener. As Dale Carnegie says, "You’re listening, not judging. To the extent that you are nonjudgmental, people will be willing to talk candidly with you. And if they won’t talk candidly, they might as well not talk at all." Besides, if you want to do something kind and unselfish, listen to the person because everyone needs someone to listen to them.