Milie Esposito made it big both
in her business and family by adopting this amazing skill. Whenever her kid speaks, she pays complete attention.
She gets rid of everything else she is already into. Some might see it as a
waste of time to give so much attention when kids speaks because they say
rubbish. Trust me, a kid does not speak rubbish instead they comment on things
they know. One evening she was working in the kitchen with her son, Robert,
after a brief discussion of something that was on his mind.
Robert said, ‘Mom, I know you
love me’. She was touched by such an amazing comment from this little one and
she replies of course I love you very much, do you doubt it?
He responded ‘No, but I really
know you love me because whenever I wish to talk to you, you let go every other
thing and listen carefully which always make me want to tell you everything
even when it is difficult’.
It is quite hilarious that
everyone keeps talking with the intention of being heard and known to exist,
even at the detriment of their own reputation, without minding about talking
rubbish. It can sometimes be unfulfilling to hear others speak while you watch
ignorantly. I was in a class sometimes ago and the lecturer asked a question, I
had a clue but decided not to speak because it seems am starting to dominate
the class with my knowledge without letting others speak. I was amazed with the
response I got from a student, I felt bad not letting other beautiful minds
emaciated their thoughts.
Being heard is also as important
as listening, which great enterprises and good homes adopt consciously or
unconsciously to make things easier. One who does not listen to others ends in
destruction or fails; it does not end with just business but family, politics
and every other activity that might involve others.
Politics might be very though,
but at my little constituency I can gladly say listening does the trick. You
might be a great scholar like King Solomon, but you just have to listen to your
subordinates. Knowing a lot has to do with the things of the past not future.
You read the whole of Wikipedia, it just a bunch of what happened in the past
so you need your listening skills to know what is invoked.
A great king was moving in his
chariot alongside his subordinates one day, and needed to tour around his
kingdom just to let his subordinates know he is good with his kingdom
environment. On reaching the outskirt of the village there was an old man
working hard on a farmland, he tried hard to go close to the king and speak to
him, but the king never cared. This was as a result the way the old man
appeared. One of the guards held him back for a while and let go of the old man
when he eventually calmed. The man speaks gently to the guard that the
surrounding was the new base of the nation’s rebels. That they had written
petitions and no one cared to go through them, that’s why he was not aware and
also didn’t listen to him. The guard ran as fast as he could but met them all
in a battlefield with a good number of the board already down.
Listening does not show weakness
instead it proves strength. A good leader is always a good listener. The
Christian holy book also sees the relevance of listening by commenting that
‘Faith cometh by hearing’. It is no longer new that people might take an
advantage of it to say rubbish, but out of every nonsense there is always a
sense. It makes people seem important. Imagine if the executives of your
working place asks for your contribution before making a conclusion, won’t that
propel you to work on the policies. People don’t support policies that even favor
them because they were not listened to.
Governmental policies were made
without consulting the people for their needs. That is why government officials
will consider building a school in a rural area filled with schools already
when there is need for pipe borne water. I once saw officials buy shoes of a
man size for primary school students. Who on earth does that?
Parents have to listen to their
kids rather than just giving them the ‘’Orders’’. Children just have to be
listened to, so has to be understood. A lecturer once told me in class that he
had once being in my shoes, but because he used to be my HOD that’s why I
decided to let him have it his way. In his time there was no such thing as
expensive phones like an iPhone 7 that all my school fees in school might not
buy. They had no such thing as bet9ja or such a harsh economy. He won’t get the
true picture until he listens to us.
Let all endeavor to listen to
others before coming to a conclusion. It might be difficult to consult
everyone, that’s why researchers are available to do that. It takes more
courage to listen than to speak. Listening does not mean am ignorant or weak to
speak out, it only means I want to understand your pain and respect your
feelings. If we could develop this trick, we would all be happier. Parents
should tend to listen more.
There are four steps to being a
good listener. Listen with your eyes rather than looking the other way, wait
for people to finish, digest it and respond accordingly.
Thank you for your time…….
Adenikan Solomon
