I see that today, March 3, is World Hearing Day.
The day, according to the World Health Organization, is set up to “raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.”
Maybe this should not just be about hearing loss, but also about “listening” loss.
It is a health-focused day, not a political one, but recent political events have shone a bright light on the growing concern that lots of people talk but very few listen.
As part of my role, I often moderate discussions at conferences. We're lucky that the hospitality sector is a fun, calm and civil environment. Hotel firms and brands — even hotel industry journalistic sites — are no doubt competitive, but the civility is what shines through conference after conference.
One thing I have learned from moderating is that a panel session will collapse pretty quicky if the moderator does not listen to what is being said on stage.
Questions have been formulated and are front of mind, but these questions might need to be tweaked, or even abandoned, if the conversation goes in another direction.
One thing I do not do is to talk over panelists when they are talking, and it is my experience that panelists do not do this to other panelists either, so how did we get to the situation where in some walks of life it appears that its constituents appear to believe they have won the argument if they shout the loudest, never stop talking, never allow people to talk, constantly interrupt and are just downright rude and uncivil.
Years ago, I had a friend I used to run with in New York City called Thomas Zweifel. His job was to teach company staff how to listen.
We used to meet up at the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge and then swing back around over the bridge, around Battery Park or up to Central Park and back, many, many miles, and it is easy to listen when you are currently halfway through mile 19 as one’s ability to talk is noticeably curtailed.
I see Zweifel remains in the consultancy business. I must drop him a line,
He told me that listening and strategies around listening are an effective and necessary skill set for companies, so I seem to remember during training runs for the New York City Marathon, as they are ultimately profitable for them.
There also is a respect for those who are able to talk during the 135th minute of continuous running. This person is fitter than you, perhaps has trained harder, so what lessons can they impart?
We runners in the New York Flyers club teased him a lot as he was Swiss and once ran a marathon in 3 hours 0 minutes and 0 seconds, just like a Swiss clock, although his electronic chip on his shoe registered his final time between the start and finish lines as just below three hours, which for a marathon runner is not just a second or two but a lifetime of training and sacrifice.
I see on his site he has listed his marathon best time as 2:59:58, so my memory of events is correct.
Perhaps I was listening!
I do wonder if I am a good listener. I do get quite animated during conversations that I am interested in, and on occasion perhaps I talk too much. It is always something I am aware of, something I try and rectify, and it is always a good idea to contemplate that learning comes from other people, not from what you yourself already know.
Shouters might win on TV, when viewers after the fact are asked their opinions, but it never wins the argument in any other form.
Those who shout are bores and will find themselves not needed.
Those who listen will be profitable in whatever outcome they decide to take from it.
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