Superbowl winning football coach Tony Dungy, has a saying that challenges himself and his teams to continually perform at the highest level…NO EXCUSES, NO EXPLANATIONS!. 
When was the last time that you felt you were not being listened to? My guess is that the other person could check one or more of the following POOR LISTENER’S EXCUSES:
- “I’m sorry I missed that.”
- “I wasn’t paying attention.”
- “Did you say something?”
- “Huh?”
- “I guess my mind was somewhere else.”
- “Would you mind repeating that?”
- “Whay’d ya say?”
- “I didn’t get that.”
- “What?”
- “If only I had been listening.”
- “It went in one ear and out the other!”
It’s your turn. Please add to the Poor Listener’s Excuse List by adding to the REPLY below. Let’s see if we can get them all out on the table.
The first step to listening growth is awareness. Once you name it (in this case, the excuses), you can then determine what ACTION you must take. Step #1 is to ELIMINATE EXCUSES!!
LISTENING PAYS!