Do You Hear What I Hear?

0
159

Share on LinkedIn

Not to be snide or anything, but among many pleasant things this time of year, it’s also the season for holiday shopping mall music. And if you’ve spent even a fraction of your life in a mall since the beginning of November, there’s a very good chance you’ve heard the refrain “do you hear what I hear”. It’s from The Little Drummer Boy.

Good song. Catchy. Who doesn’t want to drum every now and then?
But: this email isn’t about the song, it’s about that particular set of words: do you hear what I hear?

For many businesspeople, the answer is: uhhh, can you repeat the question?

“Hearing” is becoming a lost art. Very often, I see accomplished professionals fail to HEAR what the other person is saying. They don’t merely “misunderstand” – they just don’t hear.

Why not?!

Because they’re so wrapped-up in what THEY want/ need to say, that they’re not engaging the other person at all. They’re merely waiting, waiting, waiting for their chance to speak. They aren’t hearing at all – they’re distracted, and waiting, and circling for a chance to “take back the mic.”

The underlying mechanism here, of course, is fear: some people believe that if they don’t get “all of their points out” they won’t succeed in doing what they wanted to do (e.g. sell something). Or, they’re afraid they don’t aggressively push through their points, that they’ll be perceived as ignorant or uninterested.

These are possible, yes. But they’re very, very unlikely. Think of all of the truly intelligent people that you know – I don’t just mean smart or clever, but really wise. Notice how they speak in a relaxed manner; they aren’t “afraid” – they just speak. And when you’re talking, they hear. They don’t bite their tongue waiting for the next opportunity to dominate the conversation. They simply hear. And then they respond to what they hear. They respond to you. And you feel good. And so do they.

See? Simple. Try it – see how much value there is in HEARING. It’s more than you might expect.

parum pum pum pummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Adrian Miller
Adrian Miller Sales Training
Adrian Miller is president and founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training. She started the firm in 1989 and since then has developed highly customized and results-driven skills training for companies nationwide and across a myriad of industries. She also works with professional services firms and solopreneurs. Adrian is the author of The Blatant Truth: 5 Ways to Sales Success.

ADD YOUR COMMENT

Please use comments to add value to the discussion. Maximum one link to an educational blog post or article. We will NOT PUBLISH brief comments like "good post," comments that mainly promote links, or comments with links to companies, products, or services.

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here