{"id":2633,"date":"2019-07-29T14:21:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T14:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wakinguprevolution.com\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2019-07-29T14:21:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T14:21:17","slug":"listeningskills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/listeningskills\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Want To Improve Your Listening Skills?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have a question for you: how are your\u00a0listening skills<\/b><\/i>?<\/div>\n
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Think about those times when you are talking to someone, and a few minutes later you can\u2019t remember what they said. Or you can repeat the words, but you really don\u2019t get what they were trying to tell you.<\/div>\n
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This past week, I got to deliver a keynote to the Music Industry Advisory Group, hosted by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. I was very excited to get in front of musicians, producers, managers, lawyers and CEOs who, as the president of the Chamber said, are the heart of the industry that makes Nashville the Music City of the world.<\/div>\n
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(I was a tiny bit nervous, but the moment I climbed on stage, I felt \u2018at home.\u2019)<\/div>\n
I decided to do a talk on\u00a0\u201cActive Listening\u201d\u00a0<\/b>– knowing from my professional experience how important this skill is in the music industry (and how destructive to a career – and personal relationships – it can be when it\u2019s lacking).<\/div>\n
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The title of my talk was \u201cMyths of Successful People\u201d referring to the myth that successful people are supposed to know it all and have to have it all figured out. In fact, the really successful people are those who know how to ask questions and listen to the answers for valuable clues.<\/div>\n
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And, of course, I\u2019m talking about the kind of success that\u2019s not only about wealth, fame and status – but more so in having great relationships with people around us.<\/div>\n
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Active (or mindful) listening is huge!\u00a0<\/b>(Many of you who have had great marriages will agree with that, I\u2019m sure.)<\/div>\n
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The funny thing is that the music industry is all about listening – we listen to each other\u2019s music, we listen for the hooks of that next hit song, we listen to our bandmates when we play, and we listen to our audiences for their reactions. You would think we would be pros at listening\u2026<\/div>\n
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But listening for what we want to hear, (or are trained to listen to), is not enough.<\/b>\u00a0<\/div>\n
One of the big turning points for me in learning how to listen – and realizing how little I had known about active listening – was in my training as a life coach.<\/div>\n
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Coaches listen to clients.\u00a0fully concentrating on what\u2019s being said – without judgment or thinking ahead about what they are going to say when the client stops talking.<\/b><\/div>\n
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They are able to\u00a0remember details, ask clarifying questions, reflect back to what was said, and summarize the conversation easily.<\/b>\u00a0Coaches\u00a0don\u2019t argue back or offer their opinion.<\/b><\/div>\n
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Read this again\u2026 slowly. Now think: how often do we get to practice that kind of listening?<\/div>\n
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Most of the time, we are busy thinking up how we are going to respond and what we are going to say… what brilliant thing we can come up with! And often, the person talking to us feels unheard. Whether it\u2019s a personal or business relationship, this is where it starts breaking down.<\/div>\n
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Learning how to listen like a coach changed my life!<\/div>\n
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When I applied these concepts across my life – in business meetings, at church, in a conversation with a friend, my kids, strangers, inmates at the prison – I noticed how much better I was able to process what was being said, understand it and then – after I processed it – offer my thoughts and responses.<\/div>\n
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Now, don\u2019t get me wrong\u2026 this is a hard skill to practice all the time. Most of the time I\u2019m the most absent-minded, chaotic-creative person you\u2019ll meet\u2026 but when I decide to listen – and when it\u2019s important (like last night when I picked up my sons from a band camp and they were telling me all about their experience), I use this skill – and it\u2019s magic!<\/div>\n
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The trick is to mindfully bring yourself to the present moment, listen without judgment, ask questions and acknowledge what you heard before you offer your comments or opinions.<\/b><\/div>\n
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Check yourself for non-verbal signs of listening. (Are you making eye contact? Is your body in a position that signals you are engaged?)<\/div>\n
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Do a quick body-mind-spirit scan to determine if you are listening through a filter. You can use the H.A.L.T. acronym (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) to check what might be the real reason for the way you are feeling (irritable, rushed, sad, frustrated, etc). Rarely can we reschedule an important meeting or tell a child to stop talking in order to tend to our needs, but being aware of how this is affecting us will help us to understand how we are able to listen.<\/div>\n
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Our fast-paced world doesn\u2019t give us many chances to practice this skill of active listening, but we can create opportunities rather easily.<\/div>\n
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For example, my kids noticed how Croatians take a long time to sit together over a small cup of espresso. This time allows us to slow down and begin to listen to each other on a deeper level.<\/div>\n
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We can all practice this daily –\u00a0simply pause your agenda and bring all your attention to listening to another person<\/b>. Even if it\u2019s a few words exchanged in passing.<\/div>\n
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You can also practice active listening with nature sounds – in those times the part of understanding, asking questions, reflecting back and summarizing won\u2019t be as much of a dialogue, but a contemplation (which is also a wonderful tool for spiritual growth).<\/div>\n
I hope this was helpful to you.<\/div>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” _builder_version=”3.19.13″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/wakinguprevolution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Untitled-design.png” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.19.13″ max_width=”75%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px||”]<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Author bio” _builder_version=”3.19.13″ custom_margin=”|13px||”]<\/p>\n

Tatiana \u201cTajci\u201d\u00a0Cameron\u00a0is an award-winning music artist, published author, inspirational speaker, and certified transformational and spiritual life coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

She has many passions and is dedicated to helping others while\u00a0also\u00a0creating\u00a0an enriched\u00a0life for herself and her three sons.\u00a0When\u00a0Tajci is\u00a0not on the road\u00a0performing\u00a0gigs, she volunteers with local organizations dear to her heart, spends time with loved ones (often involving\u00a0music!), and collaborates with other artists to bring creative projects to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tajci’s most recent projects include a\u00a0meditation CD,\u00a0an annual\u00a0retreat & sea cruise in Croatia\u00a0(that she organizes and hosts), and a multimedia\u00a0CD\/book\u00a0(Un)Broken: Songs My Father Taught Me<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0|0px|27px|0px|false|false” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.13″ text_font=”Euphoria Script||||||||”]<\/p>\n

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CONNECT WITH ME<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.98″ custom_padding=”7px|0px|49px|0px”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”27px|0px|0|0px|false|false” _builder_version=”3.0.98″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.13″ text_font_size=”18px” link_option_url_new_window=”on”] I have a question for you: how are your\u00a0listening skills? \u00a0 Think about those times when you are talking to someone, and a few minutes later you can\u2019t remember what they said. Or you can repeat the words, but you really don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tatianacameron.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}