It’s rare to find someone who listens to you. I mean really listens to you in a deep, heartfelt way. It’s the long forgotten skill and with the introduction of texting listening is being forgotten even faster.

Just the other day, I was talking to someone who kept checking his BlackBerryish thang for messages. I saw a guy checking it at the gym in-between squats. I see business folks sporting suits checking it while walking down the sidewalk.

Good lord. Is this invention going to mark the final demise of listening? Feels like another distraction to keep folks from being present in the moment where listening thrives.

If you’re having trouble connecting with potential clients or asking for your right price, chances are good you’re not listening to them or yourself. (Have you taken a phone call or checked your BlackBerryish thang when meeting a new client? Well, I’ve had it happen to me when looking for a vendor. I instantly cross them off my list.)

I wouldn’t know anything about listening either if I hadn’t taken a fabulous listening class 15 years ago. Saw the description in a continuing ed catalog and signed up immediately. (Haven’t seen such a class advertised since.) I knew something wasn’t right with me and my conversations. Thought I’d give the class a try.

Well, it changed everything for me. I learned to listen actively. This skill came in really handy when I opened my business. At first I didn’t use it throughout the sales process, which I’d modeled on corporations that blitzed the potential client with tons of materials and PP presentations. Once I did, that’s when the sales magic happened!

Do you feel listened too? When? How does it feel?