Did You Hear, There's An International Listening Association?

They’re a quiet group. I was surprised to learn from Listen.org that:

• People listen at 125–200 words per minute, but think at 1,000–3,000 per minute.
• Most of us are distracted, preoccupied, or forgetful 75% of the time we should be listening.
• Immediately after we listen to someone, we only recall about 50% of what they said.
• Long-term, we only remember 20% of what we hear.

The solution? Deep listening. Deep listening is focusing intently on what the other person is saying — no interrupting, criticizing, judgment, or verbal responses like, gulp, offering advice. It’s pure listening, letting go of any beliefs you might have about the talker or their situation. No “What should I say?” It's pure being-there. And the other person will notice the difference, just as you will. It sounds almost impossible to do (most of us have trained ourselves to do otherwise) but practicing deep listening is actually quite enlightening, even fun. I felt like I was 4-years-old again, just soaking it all in.

More listening facts from Listen.org

That is all.