Most people are not good listeners. In fact, research has shown that the average person only listens at about 25 percent efficiency.1 Twenty-five percent? What are they doing with the other 75 percent? This puts a lot of pressure on speakers and presenters. Knowing that your audience is more than likely not listening to anything that you are saying can be a tough hill to climb. Steven R. Covey said it best, “most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”2 We are all guilty of this; we are thinking about what we want to say rather than listening to the person talking to us. Think back to a recent meeting at work. Most likely you knew the agenda and topic at hand and ...
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