Are you a talker or a listener?

Hi,

Welcome back!

I recently met a business associate and was struck my how much he talked to me (or to put it nicely shared information with me). He kept jumping from topic to topic pausing only to take a breath. After a while, I got completely zoned out and lost interest in the conversation.

Contrast that to my experiences in talking to some other business associates, who were much better listeners. In fact, they were so good that listening, it almost seemed as if they were trying to hide information (for whatever reason and that too information that can easily be searched on Google) and trying their best to extract information!

'Talking' and 'Listening' are two crucial skills that one needs in a business setting and best summarized by the below listed articles that I chanced upon.

For the talker in you:

The Smart-Talk Trap

Organizational Behavior: The Smart-Talk Trap

Dilbert and The Smart Talk Trap: The Dangers of Skilled Bullshitting
The Smart-Talk Trap in the Era of Social Media (and What to Do About It)

And for the listener in you:

Why I'm a listener: Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer

So, are you a talker or listener or somewhere in between?

Regards,

Jyothin

PS: No guesses for why the talker list above is longer than the listener list :-) !!