The more this writer interacts with employees in the business world, the more I realize that the art of focused listening is becoming a lost art. Why? Simply because there are too many outside distractions, i.e., Satan being the master distractor.What is focused listening?
"Focused listening is a strategy that guides students to listen closely to a text. It helps students listen attentively with no distractions and to identify key points and ideas (source).
The following are two examples:
1) Subway sandwich lady server --- This lady asked me a second time as to what kind of sandwich that I wanted after I had initially told her six inch, whole wheat, turkey with pepper jack cheese.
She was not focusing on what I was telling her, but was being distracted by other things.
2) Dental appointment lady --- Called me on Monday of this week and scheduled me for Tuesday, November 5th for a crown installation (my new crown was received). I wrote down the appointment time (8:15 a.m.) on my calendar. Today (Wednesday), I received another call from the same lady, telling me that my new crown had been received and wanted to know when I wanted an appointment. I told her that an appointment had already been made for November 5th. She checked and confirmed said date.
This lady was obviously trying to focus on too many things at once (multitasking -- which cannot be done successfully).
The following illustrations here, here, and here (note the ten tips) should help us in improving our focused listening skills. This writer uses these skills as I teach and interact with my Sunday morning Bible class students, but we can also use these skills as we interact with people throughout the week. The art of focused listening cannot be overstated in our seemingly always busy world.
---Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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