Would Life Be Better as an App with Funny Noises?
When she was an adolescent, I watched my daughter play an app game that includes candy on a rope, spikes, an open-mouthed frog, little spidery things, and flatulence noises. I was struck by how intensely... Continue readingWhen You Can’t Bear to Listen
And a final question from The Listening Post, with a slight twist from a skillful reader: “I have to be physically present and look like I’m listening to someone I’d rather not deal with, but... Continue readingHow Can I Listen to Someone I’d Rather Not Hear
Here’s the other popular reader response to the series The Listening Post: What if you don’t think the other person is worth listening to? Or you don’t like or trust them? Harsh questions, these. The... Continue readingWhy Should I Listen to You?
In response to my short series The Listening Post, multiple readers wanted to know why they should bother to listen to someone who demonstrates poor listening techniques themselves. Why should I listen to someone who... Continue reading
The Listening Post, Part III: Readers Ask for Extra Help
Most of the (numerous!) questions that readers have written to ask me about listening are actually about the relationships within which the listening occurs -- or doesn’t. I address some of those questions in Why... Continue reading
The Listening Post, Part II: Receptivity and Responsiveness
Tom Peters, the well-known consultant, business writer, and speaker referred to as “the Red Bull of management thinkers,” tweets at least once a month about the fact that excellent listening is a strategic differentiator. Peters... Continue reading
The Listening Post, Part I: Four Crucial Aspects of Understanding
We assume we know how to listen because we’ve been listening, or trying to listen, or thinking we were listening, virtually since birth. But listening isn’t intuitive: It takes effort, focus and practice to be... Continue reading
If Someone’s Poking a Hole in You, Perform Evasive Maneuvers
A reader of How to Get Your Point Across without Poking a Hole in Anyone and Q&A About Talking Side by Side sent in a sort of counterpoint question: How do you avoid having a... Continue reading