Do you talk about people? Or are you "just" listening?
“Strong minds discuss ideas,average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
Socrates
I used to work with a person who was largely regarded as "The Town Herald."
You know the type.
Every time something interesting happened in the office (or if there was a RUMOR of something interesting), he had to pull someone into his office and speculate about what was going on. He was full of theories around the outcome of the situation and always offered commentary on the players.
One player was clueless, the other person was inept.
One guy was a cheat, one gal was mean.
The boss was a lame duck, the boss's boss was ruthless.
On and on he went. I wish I could say I found him uninteresting, but honestly, I liked hearing him talk. His insights were fascinating.Who cares that I wanted to take a shower after listening to him.
Is listening an issue? Paying attention didn't hurt anyone, did it? Was I part of the problem?
If a Town Herald is yelling in the center of town and no one's listening, can he still make an impact?
You probably know the answer, and if you're like me, this means spending less time talking OR listening to conversations about people. Nobody wants a weak mind...