The Art of Listening

Send us Fan MailWhen my dad was alive, he often repeated a story from his college years to us kids. He described going into a professor's office to discuss a question he had on a paper or something like that. As he stood in front of the professor's desk, the professor continued to focus on the other papers laying in front of him. He would mindlessly mutter an acknowledgement every now and then as my dad talked, but he never looked up and continued marking the papers he was working on. Finally my dad said something like, "I guess these papers are more important than my question." He took his paper, turned, and left the professor's office. The point of Dad's story was not lost on us kids. He constantly modeled the importance of focusing on and listening to whoever is in our presence. That repeated story was shared to give us a picture of who we should not want to become.Listening is of the utmost importance in creating meaningful relationships. As a car needs a periodic tune-up, so do our listening skills. Thanks for "listening!!"