Someone (I forget who) used to tell me this all the time and it really is true. Everyone has a story. They said, "Encourage people to tell you their story. Most of the time it will be fascinating!". Most of the time, however, people don't need encouragement; they are more than willing to share their stories (experiences) with you.
As expected, I find that as I get older, the number of stories I have available becomes larger and larger. I now have a story for almost any occasion. This blog is a perfect example of that.
It's interesting to watch the group dynamics with a bunch of people discussing nothing in particular (being retired, most of my conversations fit into this category; I seldom have a discussion about anything important). Everyone wants to relate their experience and the subject becomes like a chain. It gradually moves from one topic to another as the conversation continues.
To exchange information or ideas requires two things: someone who is has information or ideas and is willing to share them, and someone who is willing to listen to receive these ideas. It seems that we have a lot more of the former than of the latter. I know I fit into this category.
I used to work for a division of a large corporation. This company decided that they needed a new tag line so they came up with the phrase, "We know how important it is to listen". To support this philosophy, they sent every one of their 43,000 employees to a seminar on listening. They truly spent a lot of money on the idea of listening.
Did it help? I don't think so; that company doesn't exist today. Oh, bits and pieces of it are still around but the company is not. Someone on Madison Avenue made a lot of money promoting the tagline but we didn't listen.
The next time you see me, be sure to tell me your story (unless, of course, I have a more important one to tell you)! Did you say something?
No comments:
Post a Comment