Hey! Are You Listening?

Have you ever been in a team meeting or having a discussion with team members when all of a sudden you realize someone has asked for your input and you don’t have a clue what they asked? You’re not alone. It happens to all of us.

What action do you take when you discover this has happened? You have a decision to make. You can decide that the discussion is not important to you and stay checked out or you can decide that the discussion is important to you and check back in. How do you do that? Since checking out of discussions happens to all of us, you could simply say, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t quite focused on the discussion, could you please summarize what you just said.” Or, “I’m sorry, I missed the question, would you mind repeating it?”

The fact is, all of us check out many times during the course of a day. It’s human nature.

By being aware and taking responsibility for your listening, you can recognize when you begin to check out and will be able to bring yourself back into the conversation more quickly.