Friends of Dave #368: 🛫 babies born on planes 👶
Listening is now becoming a super power.
You know how last week I shared a bunch of links to stories about what other’s were predicting for 2024?
Here’s one of my own:
In 2024 every one of you will have the opportunity to gain another super power.
We’ve talked here in the past about the super powers (both good and bad) we all have. Well, I’m here to report there’s another one out there.
That’s right, my mild mannered Friends.
Just like VCRs, our ability to wiggle our pinky toe, square dancing in gym class, encountering a young adult who doesn’t have at least one tattoo, public pay phones and Tae-bo before it, in 2024 you can add another thing to the endangered species list:
Basic listening skills.
“What?!??” some of you might ask.
You may have heard reports that humans now have an attention span that is shorter than a goldfish. And we all intuitively know the primary contributor to this — it’s the thing you are likely holding in your hand right now or that is sitting on the table next to you.
While humans can still hear audible sounds, our ability to process those sounds and effectively interpret what they mean (which is already challenging for some) is being weakened by the constant stimulation our brains experience from our smartphones.
Be honest — how often do you sit on a couch or a dinner table next to a family member, large screen TV blaring in the background, while you interact with a small screen in your hand or on your lap scrolling, tapping or clicking? Between the family member, the TV or the small screen, which usually has the majority of your attention?
Believe it or not, listening is a form of communication that requires effort….and nowadays it is proving to be a pretty hefty requirement.
It requires being present in what is happening in a moment.
It requires bandwidth to connect with the information and signals we observe (both audible and visual) and process them to determine what they really mean.
Listening, as opposed to hearing (which is a sense), is something we consciously choose to do.
And yet, we regularly choose to make the things we hear just background noise while we increasingly allow ourselves to be distracted by our scrolling, our texting, our posting and our liking.
Put simply: given the choice, people aren’t f^cking listening to each other any more.
Think about it….look at all of the evidence of this around us.
Think about the impact this breakdown in basic communication has on our daily personal and professional lives and the dysfunction that goes along with it. It makes us all less present, less empathetic to others and, yes, less human.
Ah, but herein lies the opportunity, Friends.
The ability to listen is still something that we mere mortals can have. We can all choose to become better listeners if we want. Frankly, the bar is pretty low right now.
So my challenge to you in 2024 — be the outlier. Make listening a super power. Make it your super power.
Here’s how you can do it:
Be intentional in choosing to be more present in the moment.
Remove the unnecessary distractions when you can.
Put the smartphone down.
Think less about the value of broadcasting and think more about the value of processing.
Choose to make an effort to sharpen your interpreting skills — not just the words, sounds or signals you hear with your ears, but with what you observe with your eyes and you feel in your heart as well.
Take pride in getting really good at listening….and then see what happens with your personal and professional interactions as a result.
It’s not often we are presented with an opportunity to gain a new super power, Friends. Let’s make 2024 is the year for it.
XOXO
Dave
And now a few things to make you smarter…
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This graphic by Clunker Junker uses data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to identify the most dangerous time to drive in each state of the country, based on traffic fatalities.
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‘This is the BA pilot, and your wife is going into labor”
Births on planes, called skyborns, occur in approximately one in every 26 million passengers. If you have ever wondered about what happens when the stork arrives mid-flight, here’s the answers to all of your questions.
While unleashing the “animal spirits” of your sales team, beware of the unintended consequences that powerful incentives can create.
At some point, all of us must face the difficult decision to let go of something that formerly offered us purpose. But big decisions, like a career change, should be approached thoughtfully.