Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to be a hungry listener. Whether you're
Speaker 2: talking with a loved one or attending a presentation, let
Speaker 2: the speaker feel your desire to hear what they are saying.
Speaker 2: You'll help them and probably enjoy the experience more as well.
Speaker 2: So there's a wonderful passage in Zora Neil Hurston's novel
Speaker 2: Their Eyes Were Watching God, when two old friends, Janie
Speaker 2: and Phoebe are talking after time apart. During this time,
Speaker 2: Jane had a series of intensely joyful and heartbreaking experiences,
Speaker 2: and the narrative voice explains Phoebe's hungry listening Jane to
Speaker 2: tell her story. I like that Janie wants her friend
Speaker 2: to know what she has experienced and felt, and she
Speaker 2: wants to process all that's happened, and Phoebe's hungry listening.
Speaker 3: Makes that possible. I'm sure we've all had similar experiences.
Speaker 3: A friend or family member who seems truly interested in
Speaker 3: what you are saying can help you make sense of
Speaker 3: an event or of complicated feelings. What a gift that is.
Speaker 3: But Hungry listening isn't just for deep, life altering conversations.
Speaker 3: Good listeners can help anyone communicate more effectively. I know
Speaker 3: I have had that experience while giving speeches. I love
Speaker 3: to be able to see audience members smiles and nods
Speaker 3: as they connect with what I am saying. Inevitably, I
Speaker 3: wind up making way more eye contact with the smiling,
Speaker 3: nodding folks than with anyone else. With virtual talks. I
Speaker 3: know that lots of folks like to turn their cameras
Speaker 3: off and relax while they're listening, and I totally get that,
Speaker 3: but I do really appreciate when at least a few
Speaker 3: folks leave their cameras on so I can see that
Speaker 3: they are still with me. Sometimes I've even asked if
Speaker 3: an organizer or two can leave their personal cameras on
Speaker 3: so I can see if my jokes are landing or not.
Speaker 3: Since I know how helpful this active listening is for
Speaker 3: me as a speaker, I try to be a hungry
Speaker 3: listener when I'm in a situation of listening to someone else. Yes,
Speaker 3: it's easy to check your messages or do other work
Speaker 3: or zone out, but by looking carefully at the presenter,
Speaker 3: you can keep them on top of their game show empathy.
Speaker 3: If they say something moving, laugh say something funny, the
Speaker 3: presenter will feel encouraged, which means that they are going
Speaker 3: to give a better and more interesting talk. They might
Speaker 3: possibly even give a more targeted talk. If your body
Speaker 3: language shows when the person is saying something you are
Speaker 3: really into and then you are a little less intense
Speaker 3: when they are off the mark, you're going to get
Speaker 3: a lot more out of a better presentation than one
Speaker 3: where the speaker is flying blind. If you become known
Speaker 3: as a hungry listener, people are generally going to be
Speaker 3: more excited to share information with you. There is so
Speaker 3: much competing for our attention, to be sure, but it
Speaker 3: isn't that hard to actively listen and engage with people
Speaker 3: talking with you. And who knows when you might pick
Speaker 3: up something interesting that is probably going to be a
Speaker 3: better use of time than rolling around on the internet. Again,
Speaker 3: in the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 3: here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four, then breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.