The Fundamental Importance of Listening to Develop your Character in Today's Scenario

Many people assume that listening and hearing mean the same but they are quite different. To be precise there is a semantic difference in the meaning and usage of these words. In the great zestfulness of life, we forget the great gifts we have – eyes, ears, mouth. This exuberant mix of gifts not only boosts one's character but also the career. Yeah! That is right. The combination of these three gifts makes us realize the splendor of sight, wonders of sound and epicurean delight of taste. Sadly among these three gifts, the ears are the least important and forgotten. Why?

It is quite simple. The primary usage of ears is for hearing and listening. Both of these are of less importance to us. Well, most of us get wrong in this part, at least in the case of listening. Now the question that comes to our mind is the basic difference between the words listening and hearing.

Hearing involves the primary use of our ears while listening involves the coordinated effort of our ears, lips and eyes. We hear sounds, words, sentences and listen to ideas, thoughts, beliefs and feelings. So the basic difference is the feelings. You can say that hearing like reading the front page of a newspaper, where we hurriedly glance the headlines. You know what is happening in your country but that is about it. There is no special intrinsic feeling. Listening is much deeper. It is just like reading a novel where you get immersed in the story and at times feel like crying and laughing. When the novel ends you feel good and satisfied inside. So you could say that listening is more rewarding than hearing.

One thing that stands out in case of listening is that a good listener does not only keep the conversation going, but pauses to think, respond and ask questions. Seriously, by listening you provoke your mind to think deep. This is one of the most important qualities that is very much essential for a successful career and corporate life. A good listener sometimes develops the character of a good convergent thinker. This helps in getting a better understanding of the situations and problems and providing feasible solutions. How? Well, it is simple.By being a good listener you develop the feeling of intimacy. This intimacy helps you to connect to the speaker at a greater and better level. For example, when parents listen to their teenagers, they get and develop a better understanding of what a teenager's life would be at this age. The same is the case with a technician who listens and handles a grumbling customer and solves the problem. Having a good listening skill can also help an employer to understand the problems and complaints of the employees. This will make the employer know what has been hindering the growth and development of the company.

Honestly, listening is a kind of a magical thing. It develops a person's character, boosts his confidence, adds knowledge, helps to solve problem and most importantly gets up close with a person. If you are a good listener you could make the person open up his thoughts and feelings. This is quite advantageous in terms of business as you can build instant rapport with the customer. Naturally it will boost your business by building networks and further expanding your domain.

Now wait one second, a question may arise in your mind that humans have a fickle mind. By having a fickle mind they cannot possibly listen raptly to everything around them. That is very much true, however you have the choice to listen or not. You can immediately judge whether a conversation is worthwhile or not. Invest your precious time in listening to worthy conversation and avoid useless ones. In short to have a prosperous career and a dynamic personality, harness your listening skills. Watch a lot of talk shows and news reports on your TV connected to Verizon FiOS TV or other service providers. Try to analyze the information and come up with a feasible solution in your mind. The problem right now is that we are not listening as intently as we should in important situations.