Thoughts ...

Not just in a job interview but in a everyday setting is it extremely important to have good listening skills. Now a days I strongly believe that we are so concerned with keeping up with the conversations via texting. When was the last time you had a decent conversation on the phone with someone? When was the last time you had a decent conversation face to face and engaged and ACTUALLY paid attention? My professor actually opened my eyes when she introduced us to mini presentations. Mini presentations meaning that each member in the class must stand up for a minute or so and just discuss a topic relevant to business communications (chosen from a list). While students were presenting other students around took notes, some did not and some just had no interest as they were on their laptops and/or cellphones. Once all students were done presenting their short pieces she asked if we can remember what each student talked about. I could not. I could remember a few. The only reason that I remembered the ones I did was because the speaker said something to me that stood out. My mind was not letting me soak in a lot of information as I was thinking about what I was going to do that night or what should I buy myself for lunch. This is why I chose this topic "what demonstrates good listening skills in a job interview"... not to just know what to do in a job interview but also what I can do to enhance my listening skills and communication skills in general.