Good Morning?!?

Is it?  Maybe it’s a rotten morning.  Maybe it’s the best morning ever.  There are words and phrases we use on auto-pilot.  The key to effective communication is to watch how you use these phrases and pay attention to the responses.  When you say “good morning,” the response might not automatically be “good morning” back.  It might be “just looking”, or “Hmmm” or “Whatever.”  They might say, “good morning” but with any number of subtle nuances.

Active listening means paying attention to everything the person says; even when you expect a stock answer.  It’s hard to do.  Like when the cab driver drops me off at the airport and says “have a good trip,” and I respond “you too.”  What happens right there is that I fill-in-the-blank and formulate my answer before he completed the sentence.

Don’t do that.  Let’s try together to listen to every word people say to us, take a moment to process what they said and how they said it; all before opening up our own pie-holes.  It’s courteous, it’s professional and it’s the best way to connect with people.

BIG NEWS: By the way, have you seen who's been reading The Toddwaz Report?  None other than David Squires (founding editor of InStore Magazine,) who published two of my music videos earlier today.  To see his article, click HERE.