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Issue
1: March 20, 2001
To our readers:
Did you know? Sixty percent of people who leave jobs do so because
they don't feel valued, respected, or cared for, not because of
low pay. That's good news for the leader who is willing to take
steps to show colleagues and employees he/she values them. There
are many ways to do this, several of which will be highlighted
in the next few issues of Brief Tips, a new monthly offering from
Kirk Miller & Associates, Inc.
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Brief
Tips #1:
Improve your listening skills, and immediately your colleagues and
employees will feel more valued. Four proven techniques for improving
your listening:
1.
Shut up.
You can't talk and listen at the same time.
2. Recognize that listening is something you do for personal success.
You don't listen just to be nice to others. Listening earns power,
respect, and even love, and gets you the information you need to
be an effective leader.
3. Become less self-centered.
You're about the only one who believes that you and what you have
to say are more important than the other person and what he or she
has to say. Maybe you're wrong. Pay attention to the other and you
may learn something new.
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4.
Work hard at listening.
Most people speak at an average rate of 120 words per minute. The
average listening capacity is about 480 words per minute, or four
times faster. This differential causes our minds to wander when
another person is speaking. If we can give our speaker a little
more concentration — say about 200 wpm of our listening capacity
— our minds won't wander. We achieve this by making eye contact,
by thinking intently about what is being said, by standing or sitting
upright, and by asking questions.
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