Being A Good Listener

A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he needs to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with.
"Effective listeners remember that "words have no meaning - people have meaning." The assignment of meaning to a term is an internal process; meaning comes from inside us. And although our experiences, knowledge and attitudes differ, we often misinterpret each other’s messages while under the illusion that a common understanding has been achieved."
"There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for. And questions are the breath of life for a conversation."
To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only to the 'music,' but to the essence of the person speaking.
You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he or she is. Ears operate at the speed of sound, which is far slower than the speed of light the eyes take in. Generative listening is the art of developing deeper silences in yourself, so you can slow our mind’s hearing to your ears’ natural speed, and hear beneath the words to their meaning."
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.
We listen in order to learn and retain information. If we are speaking, we are not listening or learning anything to add to our sum of knowledge. This is why the first step to effective listening is to stop talking!