Listen?

Over the last couple of months it has become evident to me that people can't hear one another. We've all become so accustomed to tuning in/out of the conversation that we can't hear basic answers. You ask someone what time it is; they answer 11am and you still don't know what time it is! This is not strictly tied to co-workers, husbands, wives, or kids. I've noticed the phenomenon by all of the above...recently.

I figured I'd remind folks that we should spend less time talking and more time listening. Listening to the answer of a question you just asked is simple respect, but listening to what a person is really trying to say in basic conversation would be darned useful too.

Boy am I behind. I figured that out when I got the following twitter message from Barbara Nixon:

Tomorrow is deadline for proposals for Int'l Listening Assoc. conference in spring. Have you submitted yet? http://www.listen.org

Far too many of us have been doing more talking than listening. There's an association, a website, and a convention. Cool, eh?