Do you want to improve the relationships of your life?
Tremendously improve them. Every. Single. One.
Whether in business, ministry, marriage or friendships—improve in this one area—and every relationship of your life will improve. Guaranteed.
How, you ask?
I’ll tell you how.
Become a better listener.
That’s it. And it sounds simple, but if you’re honest … you know it is not.
Listening is a dying art. There are truly few good listeners in the world it seems these days. We hear lots, but we listen so poorly. And, in fairness to all of us, there is far too much noise to really listen.
The word listen is defined so much stronger than just to hear. There’s an attentiveness. An intentional effort. A designed purpose for hearing.
And one secret to improving every relationship is to improve your own listening skills.
I’ll admit. I’m not one of those naturally skilled at listening. Ask my wife. (She’s an expert listener.)
I know how. I was supposedly trained in one of my master’s degrees. In being trained to be a counselor, we were taught how to listen. It’s important for the profession. Knowing how and actually doing it are not always equal functions. Again, ask my wife. (And by the way, I was never a very good counselor—and that was probably one of the primary reasons. I was too eager to fix problems at times.)
But enough about my poor listening skills, the question before we proceed is do you want to be a better listener?
Or—maybe a better question—do you want to improve all the relationships in your life?
I can tell you how. Or, at least some ways. If you’ll read with an intent to listen.
Here are five steps to being a better listener:
Genuinely want to hear. That’s where it all starts. The most important one. Usually this one alone makes all the difference.
Think of it this way—if someone was talking about a potential job you really wanted, you’d listen—for every detail you could glean. If you were a single guy pursuing the girl of your dreams and overheard someone talking about her—you’d listen. Really listen. You’d want to hear every detail. You’d soak up every morsel you could possibly attain.
The process of getting better at listening begins when you value the relationship enough to truly want to listen. When you truly care enough about the subject or the person communicating that you’ll discipline yourself to listen.
