Listening and Politics

Just read some good quotes on the subject and they seem to speak to me today.

LISTENING

"Most of us tend to suffer from ‘agenda anxiety’, the feeling that what we want to say to others is more important than what we think they might want to say to us." -- Nido Qubein

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." -- Stephen Covey

"A professional knows when his or her most effective presentation is not to give one. Do you have clients who are having a bad day? Don't try to sell to them. Do try to listen to them and earn their trust." -- Tom Hopkins

"If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you already know." -- Johann Caspar Lavater
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"President Bush's policy in Iraq "is not working," the Iraq Study Group said in releasing its long-awaited report."CNN

um.
well.
duh.

I'm sorry to bring up American politics, but the memory of the man in a brown uniform standing at our door saying to my mom "...we regret to inform you that you son, PFC Bruce E. Bowers has been killed in action...in Vietnam..." is just such a solid reminder of what is going on all over our country again. It's just not right.