More Clever Ways to Practice Listening

Written By Allison Pollard

Photo by gfpeck

Ever feel like the world is trying to get your attention by putting certain messages in front of you?  The world is trying to teach me to listen.  

I came across a TED video on 5 ways to listen better and procrastinated in watching it.  In fact, I didn't watch it at all the first time I decided to press play--I listened to it while driving.  And I listened to it a second time during the same drive.  Later I watched it with distractions in the background once I got home.  Finally, a few days later, I watched it in a quiet living room.  Now I'm posting about it, aware of the rain falling outside that provides a comforting and gentle background noise.

Watch to learn 5 ways to practice listening:

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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A Clever Way to Practice Active Listening