Listen Carefully
September 29, 2009
A magic conference provides valuable insights into the importance of listening.
Attending conferences and workshops is an excellent way to expand your knowledge base and add more value to your job. What’s more, you can sometimes gain some powerful insights that can have a significant impact on your relationships with others.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a retreat in California hosted by Jeff McBride. Jeff is an outstanding magician who regularly headlines in Las Vegas and other major resort cities. He is also a well-respected authority on the history of magic and has appeared on numerous television specials on the subject.
I attended this retreat expecting to learn some new techniques, polish some existing routines, and establish some contacts with other magicians. In all three of these areas I was successful. The environment was very supportive, and the people were willing to help each other well into the early hours of the morning.
At one point, I was speaking with Jeff about one of his routines. I had some questions about the mechanics of a particular segment of the trick. I noticed as I was explaining my question that Jeff was seated in an unusual posture. He was seated in a manner that most resembled someone who might be meditating, and his hands were cupped in his lap.
When I asked him about this, he had a very interesting answer. ”Most people don’t really listen; they just wait for their turn to talk,” he explained. ”But how can they have anything intelligent to say when they haven’t clearly heard the other person?” ”Whenever I’m listening to someone, I cup my hands like an empty vessel. When this imaginary cup is empty, it has room for whatever the other person is saying. It just serves as a subtle but powerful reminder that I should be focused on what the other person is saying, not on what I have to say in response.
“How many times have disagreements, misunderstandings, and altercations occurred simply because one person was so busy thinking about what they were going to say that they completely failed to hear the other person’s message? The next time you’re having a conversation with a friend or co-worker, try to “fill your cup” with the knowledge and insight you can get by truly listening.
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