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26Watch Your Language

We learn more by listening than by talking

We spend 45 percent of our waking time listening, yet we forget 50 percent of what we hear.

Listening is a critical skill in everyone’s life. Remember the old game of “telephone,” where the first person in line whispers a message to the next person, and it gets passed down the line? This usually results in a completely different message or statement. Many of us played that game as children, sometimes with hilarious results. In real life, if you’re not a good, careful listener, the results can be less than amusing—even damaging or life changing.

Hearing is one of the body’s five senses, but listening is an art. Being a good listener can make or break a career. Your success could hinge on whether you have mastered the skill of listening.

Believe it or not, there’s an International Listening Association website which offers some interesting facts:

• Eighty-five percent of our learning is derived from listening.
• Listeners are distracted, forgetful, and preoccupied 75 percent of the time.
• Most people only remember about 20 percent of what they hear over time. But I would advise here that trying to commit the important things to memory should be accompanied by some efficient note-taking.
• People listen at about 125 to 250 words per minute, but think at about 1,000 to 3,000 words per minute.
• There have been at least 35 business studies indicating listening is a top skill needed for success. Frankly, I think the experts ...