I really like this quote (esp. the first two lines, I have mixed feelings about when and whether it's okay to talk about other people).
I also happen to agree -- interesting people love to talk about ideas, concepts, and they start sentences with "Did you ever notice that..." and "What about...?" Not-so-interesting people often haven't matured past the stage when you realize that other people might not care about the great deal you just got on shoes, or excruciating detail about how your favorite pizza toppings have evolved over the years.
Every book on any shelf about leadership or influence talks about LISTENING -- being a good listener, offering yourself up to listen, etc. It's great advice, but it's only half of the equation. No one ever mentions it, but it's equally critical to be a good TALKER -- in other words, just to take that split second before opening your mouth to say "Does the person [or people] in the room care to hear this?"
I happen to love conversationalists, but I can draw a clear distinction between them and talkers , who I try to avoid at all costs, because the day is just too short!
As someone who's not going to be doing ANY talking from October 12 for about a week thereafter, I'm looking forward to the chance to just listen and soak in everything around me...this should be fodder for plenty of future writing material.
I really like this quote (esp. the first two lines, I have mixed feelings about when and whether it's okay to talk about other people).
ReplyDeleteI also happen to agree -- interesting people love to talk about ideas, concepts, and they start sentences with "Did you ever notice that..." and "What about...?" Not-so-interesting people often haven't matured past the stage when you realize that other people might not care about the great deal you just got on shoes, or excruciating detail about how your favorite pizza toppings have evolved over the years.
Every book on any shelf about leadership or influence talks about LISTENING -- being a good listener, offering yourself up to listen, etc. It's great advice, but it's only half of the equation. No one ever mentions it, but it's equally critical to be a good TALKER -- in other words, just to take that split second before opening your mouth to say "Does the person [or people] in the room care to hear this?"
I happen to love conversationalists, but I can draw a clear distinction between them and talkers , who I try to avoid at all costs, because the day is just too short!
As someone who's not going to be doing ANY talking from October 12 for about a week thereafter, I'm looking forward to the chance to just listen and soak in everything around me...this should be fodder for plenty of future writing material.
Greg
ReplyDeleteThanks
Cliff