Skip to content

It's worth paying attention to attention

Clive

Pay attention while you listen. Framing, paraphrasing, analysing, summarising. Those all come later. Attention first.

Pay attention while you speak. Notice your tone, pace, volume ... and how these affect others listening to you.

Pay attention to your internal dialogue. That's the voice inside that distracts, interrupts, and meta-comments. Notice what you notice.

Then (after the meeting ends) ask yourself, "How do I improve the quality of my attention next time?"

The Influence Briefs

Clive

Related Posts

Members Public

Talking too much

I was in a meeting once where I said a lot. Frankly… I just talked too much. Good points. Clear insights. People nodding (off). Afterwards, my boss pulled me to one side and said, “You didn’t hear half of what the client said, did you?” She was right. I’

Members Public

The deluxe service

If you’ve stayed at a posh hotel you may already know about the deluxe services that are available … if you have enough money. And, I’m not talking about a bigger room and well-stocked the mini-bar. That’s nice but with the deluxe service comes a suite

Members Public

What did you try this week that's different?

Just take a moment to answer this question. What did you try this week that's different? And I'm not meaning eating Hákarl (although kudos if you did). I'm meaning a different way to have impact or influence. Most candidates applying for coaching haven'