I love to talk. I used to talk anyone’s ear off who would listen to my long-winded babble!

The best man at my wedding described me to a “T” in 2005:

“Tim is like a remote control. All you have to do is say hello to him and he is off to the races. He changes topics quickly liked changing channels on a remote control.”

But I had to change. I had to change big time! People in business and personal lives don’t want to hear you blow hot air all day. They want to be engaged  and get talking. They want to talk about themselves and feel like others are really listening to them!

That was me for the longest time. I still struggle with this every day. But I am getting better, and certainly focus on others taking the lead in conversations now with my open-ended questions.

Every time I get off track I think of Frank Tyger’s fabulous quote,

“Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.”