If you thought that to be a great speaker you needed to address a large audience, I’ll tell you that you’re wrong. Listening is an art like communication, because when you listen, you sound smarter. We’ve always heard the phrase “Listen before you speak,” but it seems that we live in a world with so much noise that people have stopped listening and just heard.
I remember watching TV all the time as a kid. I was a big fan of Spider-Man and all the Hollywood movies. Remember I said I was a fan of The Lion King? Well, I was stuck with the phrase “Look beyond what you see.” Although it doesn’t explicitly mention listening, the phrase invites you to observe, reflect, and understand before acting or responding, aligning with the idea of prioritizing listening and understanding. Because listening is, in other words, concentrating, in other words (perhaps modifying the phrase to my own sense) “Listen beyond what you hear.”
My first language is Spanish, and when I communicate with other people in English, I have to pay twice as much attention to them because it is not my first language. Well, one day I went to my English teacher and said to him: “I can communicate in English, I can think in English, why don’t I understand when people talk to me?” That’s when the teacher made an anagram with the letters of the word “listen”, getting the word “silent”. This left me impressed. My problem was that, like everyone, when you speak a second language, you think more about how to give your answer than about internalizing everything correctly. It’s normal and it happens to everyone.
The lesson of listening serves me well as editor-in-chief at D’PAZ Magazine, where we interview and talk to many people to get the best articles. And I learned that the best articles come not so much from good ideas like light bulbs that go off in your head, but from those that you are willing to listen to, whether externally or internally. How many of us listen to ourselves? I learned that one way to practice listening is by writing down our thoughts. And so I acquired a hardcover notebook where I would write down my thoughts, observations or whatever. Thanks to those notes, you are reading these words today. Our human brain tends to store a small percentage of what, at the time, may seem like meaningful phrases or ideas. So, I acquired the habit of writing notes.
In business, listening and silence are unfortunately seen as weaknesses. In a way, because leaders are often associated with being great speakers. But in reality, this is not the case. It is only seen that way because in our times, our leaders become known for speaking. I don’t think that a video showing a leader listening is as well-known as one showing a leader speaking. Although you might be surprised to know that many leaders do not write their own speeches, just as not all artists compose their own songs. It takes courage to speak, but also to listen.
Although it may seem simple, truly listening means being willing to understand opinions that may differ from our own. Why is it important to listen even when we disagree? Because opposing perspectives enrich our worldview. Listening does not imply accepting, but rather considering and reflecting. There is nothing wrong with listening to both sides. As Epictetus once said, “We have two ears and one mouth to listen more and talk less.” Listening is undoubtedly the most underrated virtue of those who wish to leave a mark with their words.
Since I have ADHD, listening has been a big problem for me throughout my life. Luckily, today I can say that I listen more than I speak. And it is largely due to, I return to the subject, writing notes. This habit helped me a lot as a writer and as a businessman. And I think the virtue of listening has a lot to do with the idea of retaining information, for what else? I think the greatest legacy left by history books is not their words or their works, but the great achievements due to the ability to absorb through the simple act of listening.
“Photographs capture moments, notes capture your thoughts.”
-Rene De Paz
When you listen, you will notice that your mouth does not open. It is attentive listening. And when you give your answers, you will not have to explain them much, you will just say them and you will notice that they are intelligent. Instead of interrupting or worse, waiting for your chance to speak to say nothing at the end, we should assimilate and then respond. Even if it takes a pause. If you apply this, you will succeed in everything, I am sure.
I believe without fear of being wrong that great presidents are those who listen to the people and great businessmen are those who listen to their clients. If I had to give advice it would be to learn to listen (it is a lifelong task) and to take notes literally. If you want to be a great speaker, start by being good at listening attentively.
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