Listening is defined by Princeton.edu as the “act of hearing attentively.” BizJobs.com supports a business glossary definition that states that Listening is “a key selling skill, in that without good listening skills the process of questioning is rendered totally pointless.” From these definitions come the need to recognize one factor that is so often ignored it leads to a breakdown in the process of conversation: listening requires a strategy. Before you can choose a strategy, you must first understand your goals in a conversation.

Strategy #1 Define Your Goals

Often times before we enter a conversation we understand, due to the setting or people involved, the purpose of conversation we are about to engage in. Due to this advanced knowledge, it is best to define your goal(s) in having the conversation. This recognition will help you choose the best listening strategy for the situation.

4 Purposeful Types of Conversations

The following purposes for having a conversation were outlined by Bruce Wilson editor of businesslistening.com:

1. Exchange Information: these conversations are about discovering what a person “needs, or is offering.” You may be probing in order to understand whether you have synergy, “complementary offerings or needs.” As Bruce states “part of the exchange of information is often about whether someone accurately understood what they heard.”
2. Building Working Relationships: developing and maintaining a positive business connection or positive personal relationship can be a very important factor of an ongoing business relationship. Examples of these instances are “customer-supplier conversations, employer-employee conversations, networking conversations, and team communications.
3. Feeling Good: this is simply the act of conversing with someone in a productive and/or enjoyable exchange. As Bruce notes, these purposeful conversations “can be a key component of having a good day or even a good job.”
4. Make Someone Feel Good: whether you have a vested interest in a friend or business associates’ “state of mind”, good conversations can have a positive effect on others around you, bring them joy and solidify your position as a valued connection.

Like many people, I am guilty of procrastination. While I can be uncommonly disciplined in some areas of my life, I wait until the last possible moment to address others. This weekend it hit me that I have kept one of my most important business projects on the back burner for well over a year. I got up close and personal with myself trying to understand what was holding me back and what I needed to do to get beyond it. I want to share my process in a way that I hope you can benefit from.

How to Stop Procrastinating on Something Important:

1. Identify an important project or situation that you no longer want to keep putting off.
2. Get clear on the excuses and obstacles that hold you back. Write them down.
3. Look at each obstacle and ask yourself what you need to do to get beyond it. Write down what additional work, learning or change of mindset will overcome the obstacle. Consider these ideas as your action plan.
4. Review your action plan and recognize that it can be incorporated into your current life if you make the commitment.
5. Take responsibility for your action plan by breaking it down into small steps you can take. Assign these small steps to your calendar for this week.
6. Repeat step 5 until you have totally executed your action plan.

Honesty check: Are you allowing yourself to believe that you can stop procrastinating on this important thing? How willing are you to hold yourself responsible for taking the necessary steps?

You now have the confidence you can change your career and design the job you will love.

You have made the commitment to developing your vision.

Effort is the fuel for this development and the quality you bring to your new project. All the pieces are in place-now comes the hardest part that separates those who want to get to their goals and those who want to get to their goals and follow their action plan: perseverance.

Three Steps To Maintaining Your Perseverance

1. Dreams Come True: Be of the mindset that this is your chance to make your dream come true. Working on your dream is more fulfilling and meaningful than working on someone else’s business. Watch your mindset

2. No Room For Regrets: Don’t allow yourself to be side tracked, sabotaged, or completely derailed by any regrets that could arise from not doing everything possible to achieve your dream goals. Learn from your regrets but do not spend anymore time than to learn–the lesson step here is to value the present and the future

3. Challenge Your Weaknesses: Expect anything worth achieving to come with a set of challenges. Most of these challenges will test your weaknesses. Remind yourself that these challenges will be well worth conquering on your way to reaching your goals

Once you have built your confidence and belief in yourself, the next step to shaping your reality is to maintain a high level of commitment toward your vision. Commitment is defined as a “pledge or promise, obligation, engagement or involvement.” It is the glue and strength that holds together an action plan.

Four Steps To Maintaining Your Commitment:

1. Key areas for development: Break your vision down into areas for development.

2. Create step-by-step goals for each area of development. This gives you an instant measurement tool for your progress and a method to chart your time

3. Add detail to your goals by working through each one step by step.

4. Repeat the confidence building ideas above as needed. The process of commitment requires repetition.