Jo Tejada’s stage name is Raquel Welch, a cinema icon in her day!
Listening issues can be both physical and psychological. On the physical side, please consider: that research shows that we only retain 17% to 25% of the things we hear; listening to complaining for 30 minutes can damage that part of the brain that handles problem-solving; more than 40 million people in North America have some degree of physical hearing loss.
For those with no hearing impairment, only about 10% of people actually listen effectively. Yet, interestingly, about 96% of people report they are good listeners!! In one study, people listened to a 10-minute oral presentation. Half of the people could not describe the content right after the presentation and fully 75% could not even recall the subject matter within 48 hours. Yikes!
We often think that we are listening but we're actually just considering how to jump in to tell our own story, offer advice, or even make a judgment—in other words, we are not listening to understand, but rather to reply. What’s the best way to solve the problem? Fewer answers, more questions! Asking questions literally forces you to listen!
Born exactly 82 years ago this month, Ms. Welch is proof positive that you never know when someone, anyone, has something very interesting to contribute. And you can only catch it by listening!
Perform Better!
