can you hear me?



History repeats itself because no one listens the first time. — Anonymous

I was not really feeling well today so I asked my friend if we could have lunch somewhere so I could sip some hot soup.

Lunch went on pretty well and I had a nice hot congee. We asked for the bill and the waitress came back to give it to me. Noticed that both our meals were punched twice, I called the waiter and informed him of the error. He went to the cashier and I assumed he asked for the bill to be corrected. Another waiter comes to our table to give us the bill. I checked it and was surprised to see that nothing was changed. I was getting annoyed about it but since I do not have the energy to argue, I told him 'again' of the error. A waitress comes back to us with "the bill" and to my utter disbelief it was the same one! I almost screamed with frustration.

Listening is a gift. We hear the words being said but we may not really understand what it means because we are not really listening.

Definition:
[verb] hear with intention;


[verb] listen and pay attention;

Synonyms: hear, take heed


[verb] pay close attention to; give heed to;
Synonyms: heed, mind


Do you remember the days when you were interested in someone? Whether romantically or you just find this person has something important to say. Don't you remember hanging on to his or her every word? In the company I work for, all employees are required to attend a seminar called Five Star Customer Service before he or she reports to their post. It's a two-day seminar about listening and understanding your customer's needs. Even people from the top management are required to go through that. And I think it's a great help to our organization.

Most of my friends tells me I am a good listener. I asked them how I merited such a title? They told me I allow them to say what they wanted and needed to say without interrupting them with my ideas and my views, I let them finish what they had to say.

Listening, really listening for me is clearing your mind from all it's clutter and letting the words sink in, digesting its meaning and letting it seep into your heart. Try it, you'd be surprise to know that you've been speaking the same language after all. The language of the heart. =)

Here are some funny quotes about listening, thought I'd share it with you.

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Conversation: a vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener

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"You know, it’s at times like this when I’m trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young!" "Why, what did she tell you?" "I don’t know, I didn’t listen!" — Douglas Adams

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My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that’s what she said. — Anonymous

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If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.— Anonymous

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It’s my job to talk and yours to listen, but please, let me know if you finish before I do. — Anonymous

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Women like silent men. They think they’re listening. — Marcel Archard

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The older I grow the more I listen to people who don’t talk much. — Germain G. Glien

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And my personal favorite: One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening. — Franklin P. Jones

If I read your articles that means I'm listening. =) Happy blogging people!

Comments

You're rite about listening. In our relationship, when romance is still there, we have the passion to listen of our partner stories, no matter he/she tells the story twice or thrice. But when the romance become "usual", the norm of "listen" change to "hear".

I train my customer service staff about the difference and I told them that when we listen, we put our attention to every word, every body language, every intonation, in to our partner.
louann said…
I could never agree with you more. Sometimes I feel that people just hear you out because they feel that listening to themselves talk is more important.
Anonymous said…
Great post again :o) How about handing it to our political leaders who lack the ability to hear anything but themselves?
"A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?" - Edward H Richards
Too often people do not 'listen' or choose to hear only what they want to hear, yet if you listen with your eyes as well as your ears you learn so much more.
Have a good day my friend.
cotojo
http://grottynosh.wordpress.com
Sophiagurl said…
***Tere - yes I agree people who work in servicing have to be great listeners. thanks for visiting.

***Louann - agree, listening and hearing are not quite the same thing.

***Cotojo - thank you for a lovely addition to my post. Have a good day too=)
Impressionist said…
This is soo true! :)
lovely post!
loved this esp ;) "If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.— Anonymous"
heheh!

peace & love
Jeevy
Impressionist said…
Hey why dont u change the link color to some other color other than pink!
Its really hard to see the links! :)

peace & love
Jeevy
Anonymous said…
This is great..happens with me also..damn waiters...
sometimes we are bbusy listening something lese that we miss out precious stuff :) nice one sis..gr8 going..

n plzzzzz change the theme its tough to read..
Sophiagurl said…
***Jeevy - been searching for a nice template but I can't seem to find something I really like. Maybe you can tell me where I could find one =) something nice like yours.

***Dream Catcher - little brother nice to see you back. been trying to change the font colors but it messes up. maybe you can teach me how. =)
Anonymous said…
Spot ON! This is a wonderful post. I have to link it somewhere...maybe link love later in the week. Thanks for making us think.
Anonymous said…
What a thoughtful post. I agree with cotojo. Sadly, our whole country needs to learn to listen.
Anonymous said…
Why dont u change the template itself..as Rajeev has given u links try them...otherise u need to edit part of ur html code of the blog..

if u knw editing html..then..if u search in the code there will be a place where "font color " hex value will be defined u need to edit that..
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Shelly - thanks, it's always a pleasure to be part of your Link Love.

@@@SusieJ - much can be said about the government, especially where I come from =)

@@@Jeevy - thanks for the links, i think i found something i like. will configure it very soon. thank you for the patience.

@@@thanks little brother, been checking out html tutorials, was able to change the font color of my post but can't seem to work on the links. i think i found a template i like will make changes very soon. please bear with the it for awhile. need some time to change it.=)
Jan Pieter said…
Great posted about listening, glad to heard you is a good listener...

Most of us criticize the mistake of others because we are not a good listener...that's true Tere, we are a good listener to our partner when romance still there....that's why i told We can't depend on people to make us happy. Only GOD in His wisdom to make us happy and to meet our needs...if you believe in God we shall be ye merciful and shall be a good listener...


href="http://pieter-marbun.blogspot.com/2007/06/be-ye-merciful.html" >Be ye Merciful
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Pieter - very true, "Only God in His wisdom can make us tryly happy and meet our needs." thank you also for listening to my ramblings. God bless!

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