I wanted to share a story that I read today. The story has to do with the gift of listening…

“Decades ago the editors of Psychology Today magazine staged an experiment to establish the effects of listening and asking easy, probing questions. Staff members flew to LAX from New York. The editor flew in later, with the intention of meeting his seatmate and getting to know him on the five-hour flight. For the duration of the flight, the Psychology Today editor asked questions and listened. He asked more questions based on what he felt his seatmate wanted to talk more about, and avoided areas he felt he didn’t. His total “purpose for being” during the five hours, was to have the conversation be all about his seatmate.

As suspected, throughout the flight the seatmate never asked anything about the editor, not even his name.

As the seatmate disembarked the plane, the staff for Psychology Today was there to interview him. They simply asked him what he thought about the man seated next to him on the flight (the Psychology Today editor, whose name he did not even know). He responded: “He was the most interesting man I have ever met.”

Moral of the story: Being interesting may have nothing to do with your deeds, your opinions or your stories, but rather your interest in others.”

Get the entire story and more at The Gift of Listening
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Additional articles you might enjoy:

The Importance of Listening
The Importance of Listening in Communication
How to Listen Effectively

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