Here is a presentation I gave at Toastmasters once.

– Make eye contact – She had a friend with hair not quite like Paige’s. Her hair covered her left eye. It drove Melva crazy because she couldn’t see both eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was looking at her.
– Distractions – Went to a movie and there was an ad about people driving a car. All of a sudden everybody’s phone rang. The next thing you hear is a car accident that startled everybody.
– Be Attentive and relaxed – Open to feedback and comments. Body language is not that she is open.
– Be Present and stay focused
– Keep an open mind – She keeps referring back to an incident when somebody sent out an email to all of her friends regarding Obamacare. She spent days researching every point and sent it back to her. What could have happened if we had an open dialogue and discussed it? There are some valid reasons that people should be able to have Obamacare, but there was no dialog.
– Never want to jump to conclusions –
– She was in a writer’s group. She was insecure. Her writer friends would talk over her. She was too shy to give her opinions
– When you listen, picture what the other person is talking about
– Concentrate even if it is boring
– Don’t interrupt
– An Interruption means, “I am more important than you” or “I don’t care what you have to say”.
– Wait for the speaker to pause to input your own comments.
– If you don’t understand ask.
– Ask questions to understand
– Try to feel what the speaker is feeling
– Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

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