Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to be a hungry listener. Whether you're talking
Speaker 1: with a loved one or attending a presentation, let the
Speaker 1: speaker feel your desire to hear what they are saying.
Speaker 1: You'll help them and probably enjoy the experience more as well.
Speaker 1: So there's a wonderful passage in Zora Neil Hurston's novel
Speaker 1: Their Eyes Were Watching God, when two old friends, Janie
Speaker 1: and Phoebe are talking after time apart. During this time,
Speaker 1: Jane had a series of intensely joyful and heartbreaking experiences,
Speaker 1: and the narrative voice explains Phoebe's hungry listening Jane to
Speaker 1: tell her story. I like that Janie wants her friend
Speaker 1: to know what she has experienced and felt, and she
Speaker 1: wants to process all that's happened, and Phoebe's hungry listening
Speaker 1: makes that possible. I'm sure we've all had similar experiences.
Speaker 1: A friend or family member who seems truly interested in
Speaker 1: what you are saying can help you make sense of
Speaker 1: an event or of complicated feelings. What a gift that is.
Speaker 1: But Hungry listening isn't just for deep, life altering conversations.
Speaker 1: Good listeners can help anyone communicate more effectively. I know
Speaker 1: I have had that experience while giving speeches. I love
Speaker 1: to be able to see audience members smiles and nods
Speaker 1: as they connect with what I am saying. Inevitably, I
Speaker 1: wind up making way more eye contact with the smiling,
Speaker 1: nodding folks than with anyone else. With virtual talks. I
Speaker 1: know that lots of folks like to turn their cameras
Speaker 1: off and relax while they're listening, and I totally get that,
Speaker 1: but I do really appreciate when at least a few
Speaker 1: folks leave their cameras on so I can see that
Speaker 1: they are still with me. Sometimes I've even asked if
Speaker 1: an organizer or two can leave their personal cameras on
Speaker 1: so I can see if my jokes are landing or not.
Speaker 1: Since I know how helpful this active listening is for
Speaker 1: me as a speaker, I try to be a hungry
Speaker 1: listener when I'm in a situation of listening to someone else. Yes,
Speaker 1: it's easy to check your messages or do other work
Speaker 1: or zone out, but by looking carefully at the presenter,
Speaker 1: you can keep them on top of their game show empathy.
Speaker 1: If they say something moving, laugh if they say something funny,
Speaker 1: the presenter will feel encouraged, which means that they are
Speaker 1: going to give a better and more interesting talk. They
Speaker 1: might possibly even give a more targeted talk. If your
Speaker 1: body language shows when the person is saying something you
Speaker 1: are really into and then you are a little less
Speaker 1: intense when they are off the mark, you're going to
Speaker 1: get a lot more out of a better presentation than
Speaker 1: one where the speaker is flying blind. If you become
Speaker 1: known as a hungry listener, people are generally going to
Speaker 1: be more excited to share information with you. There is
Speaker 1: so much competing for our attention, to be sure, but
Speaker 1: it isn't that hard to actively listen and engage with
Speaker 1: people talking with you. And who knows when you might
Speaker 1: pick up something interesting that is probably going to be
Speaker 1: a better use of time than rolling around on the internet. Again,
Speaker 1: in the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. At before breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast Pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.