The Art of Listening

In a TV talk show, the host is interviewing a little boy, the host asked him, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Answered the naive boy, "Yes! I want to fly a plane, I want to be a pilot!"

The host continue with his question, "If one day, while flying across Pacific Ocean, suddenly all the engines of your plane cease to work. What would you do?" The boy pause for a while, and said "I will tell everyone on board to fasten their safety belts and I will jump out of the plane with my parachute..." Suddenly, The host and audiences in the talk show laugh hysterically when they heard what the boy has said.

The boy is numbed and hot tears rushing out of his eyes, he cry and weep in hurt, in pain. After seeing this, the host felt sorry for what he and the audiences did to him - laughing at him - to make him feel better, he asked the little boy, "why would you do that?"

The little boy then wear a big grin on his charming face and responded, "I am going to get help for them while they remain safe in the plane with their safety belts on. I will be back!"

Everyone caught in silence.

"Yes, I will be back to save all of them!!" say the proud little pilot.

When you are listening to the speech of other, are you listening or just hearing? Is your heart there when you are listening? Do you really understand his meaning? Or you just merely hearing it and perceive? If you don't understand, please let them carry on and finish their speech first. As Steven R. Covey said, 'Seek first to understand, then to be understood.' This is the art of listening.

1. In conversation, never listen half and interject in other people speech. Let them finish first.
2. Don't make assumption or draw unfounded conclusion based on what you think you know. Most of the time, you don't!