How to LISTEN better when you love to talk

Listening determines your success.

James said, “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue…” (James 1:19, Msg).

We all want to talk more than listen.

Someone said, “God gave you two ears and one mouth.  Listening is more important than speaking!”

When you truly listen, you pay more attention to someone else than yourself.

It can heal marriages.  It can heal nations.  It can heal parents with their children.  

It will make you a great leader:  “Lead with your ears.”

If you want to learn how to listen better, learn these essential tips:

1.Listen to hear, not to answer.

Most of us listen so we can answer. We think of our answer to someone while they are speaking. Our brain is busy preparing to say something and is not truly listening.

When someone speaks, turn toward them.  Look at their face and their mouth.  Concentrate every thought on the words coming out of their mouth.

Let them finish what they have to say.  Don’t cut them off with an answer!

 2. Listening shows compassion and empathy.

When I listen deeply to a person talking to me, I enter into their problems and needs.  I don’t skip over essential clues to helping them through their issues.

Jesus often asked questions about people who needed healing or deliverance from demons. He listened to their cases before He said or did anything.

“Lead with your ears.”  If you listen and enter into their story and journey, the Holy Spirit will give you answers for them.  

God listens to us when we pray.  “His ears are open to their prayers” (1 Pet. 3:12).  Listening will open your heart to a person’s needs and problems.

 3. Listening takes humility.

Can you listen to a child?  It takes humility.

Jesus put children on His lap, listened to them, and prayed for them. The Maker of the universe could take time for them, and you should, too!

Stop your world for someone else. The most significant corporations have discovered that if the CEO walks the floor of their stores and facilities and listens to employees and customers, they will succeed.

Come out of the boardroom and get into the living room.  Humble yourself, shut your mouth, and let someone on the main floor tell you a thing or two.

4. Solve your relationships by listening.

Families remain divided for years.  When we stop listening, we build a wall.  

Can you sit there and listen to someone you disagree with, even if you think every word they say is wrong?  

Well, it’s not.

Surely there is a sliver of truth in their words.  There is some clue, some glimmer of hope, some misunderstanding that is the key to the whole conflict.

“Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue.”  I have listened to an offended family member long enough for one small clue to emerge, solving the whole issue.

You can change your world by listening before speaking. Try it this week and get ready for success!