How to be listened to

There are no big secrets to becoming a person who can communicate effectively - and remarkably enough it is the effective communicators who get the rewards in their career. More importantly are the positive effects we receive as it spills over into work and social relationships. More often than those that master that skill get the work/life balance right too.
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The ‘La’s’ as I call it is a one of the workshops I use as part of a Internal Communication Bootcamp. The following has been written by over 500 people who have taken part in them and is a work in progress so i can’t take any credit for it. I’m just the facilitator. But it increasingly makes sense to me. If you want to add then please feel free to post. I’m not one for tree hugging but this is about as close as it gets to a mantra.

How to be listened to.

Learn: We spend most of our time in delivering projects and remaining time in learning new technology skills. Apart from this, we should invest our time to learn how to build long-term relationships, how to be congruent, and how to develop one’s strengths.

Laugh: It is important to know how to avoid making mistakes, but is more important to know how to handle mistakes and move on by laughing at yourself. And when you can laugh at yourself, other people are more comfortable with you.

Look: The most obvious step to differentiate yourself is to look beyond expected. Looking for associations that have never existed before, looking for relationships that will yield maximum benefits to both parties, looking for simplicity, and looking for clarity are some of the ways to do something remarkable to receive the attention that you desire.

Lasting Impression: People you meet along the way constantly reshape your life and every engagement offers you the opportunity to make the lasting impression. We can leave a lasting impression by caring for other’s problem as if it is ours, solving the right problems, by getting things done, by going beyond the call of duty, and by being resourceful.

Love: To be successful, love what you do and do what is required. Nothing can substitute passion—not hard work, not intelligence.

Leverage: When you apply the concept of leverage in your life, you will accomplish more in 24 hours than you can on your own. The focus should not be on saving money, it should be on saving time. Money can be earned back, but you can not get back time!

Likeability: If we are likeable, people will often bend rules and make exceptions for us. To increase the likeability index, we need to make others feel good about themselves, be genuinely interested in other people, add measurable value in somebody’s life.

Listen: We all know the importance of listening well. Feedback is the breakfast of champions and if there is no listening, there is no feedback. If you want to be a champion, start listening and practice this ability consistently.

Lead: Leadership is not tied to a position. To lead, look for gaps in your organization and start filling those gaps