Sometimes when we are communicating with others our mind will wander off. This is because the average person talks at 150 words per minute while our brain can comprehend 600 words in that same time.
Have a look at these listening lapses and see how many you do:
* Do you think of the next question while the other person is still speaking?
* Do you ask a question and then listen just for the answer you want to hear?
* Do you start talking without really knowing what you are going to say?
* Do you interrupt people because you think you know what they are going to say?
* Do you interrupt people because don't like what they are saying?
* Do you lose eye contact because you are disinterested in what the other person is saying?
* Do you get fidgety or annoyed when you have to listen for more than 10 seconds?
* Do you often wish that people would talk faster?
* Do you finish off other people's sentences?
* Do you interrupt when people say something that you've heard before?
* Do you change your thoughts as someone is speaking because you've wrongly guessed what they were going to say?
* Do you regularly do most of the talking?
* Do you let your thoughts wander away when people say something you don’t agree with?
* Do you associate low intelligence with someone who talks slowly or has a disability?
* Do you talk louder when speaking with someone who has a disability?
* Do you raise your voice and/or stand up when you want the caller to stop and listen?
* Does your voice change to sound arrogant when you know that you are right?
Work on the ones that you need to so that you will be a much better listener and others will enjoy your conversation more than they do already.