The art of listening.

If I have to choose one thing I have acquired from the time I was a child, it would be the art of listening. I remember distinctly the glow on my face every time I succeeded to convince my grandma to narrate a bedtime story.

It was a mutual agreement religiously put to use every summer until I turned ten. She would tell me one story every night that would put me to sleep, dreams filled my mind with visions conjured up with the help of her lively and vivid narratives. I would ardently listen to every word said, nodding my head to indicate my attention. This was the time when my dreams turned vivid.

I realize the importance of listening. How does a baby learn to talk? How do people learn languages? Why it is called an art? Why so much importance is given to it? Listening is not an act, it is also one of the five senses that we have. Listening leads to learning.

In today’s fast paced world where a person has to skim and dip through their lives just to be able to keep a pace with it. It is highly important to stand for a while and give yourself time to understand what exactly you want and how you want it to be communicated.

Listening is a very important part of the process of communication, interaction and action, all of it can cease to exist if the concept of listening is ignored. It is how the cycle of communication completes. Without exchange of ideas, thoughts and data it becomes redundant.

To grow as an individual it is very important to learn to listen as to effectively communicate to the people around you. An organization grows only if interaction between its employees is clear, when the communication is timely and effective and the feedback is prompt and efficient and thats where importance of listening comes into picture.