The power of Listening in Counseling

Listening is the first of the three crucial skills of a Manager. I discovered that it tops the list of skills required by a good counselor too!

Vasanthi gave this expansion of the word Listening that I liked:

L ook Light travels faster than sound. Catch what he says and what he does.

I nterest Should be in the person and in the content.

S incerity

T otality Listen to the whole message. Listen till the person finishes.

E mpty There should be no filters, barriers or other external thoughts

N eed-oriented

I also liked Dr. Verma’s comment on the issue whether poor listening skills are an issue to be addressed by counseling. He suggested that where the person does not know how to listen he needs training. But if he does not want to listen he needs counseling.

The strength of Irrelevance