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A comment on Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time to listen to me.

Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by boop on Saturday August 13, 2011 @10:07AM (#2880973)
This is very true. I have repeatedly been called a great communicator which surprises me as I find in group conversations I tend to listen 70% of the time and talk only 30% of the time. I believe because I talk less, more weight is given to what I say. Also, because I talk less, I choose my words wisely instead of just blurting out anything that comes to mind.
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Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by swombat on Saturday August 13, 2011 @10:15AM (#2880988)
Talking 1/3 of the time seems like exactly the right proportion. See this article, also by my dad:

http://wisdom.tenner.org/1/post/2011/07/the-small-wheel-list...

Ultra-condensed summary: if you want people to pay attention to what you say, spend 1/3 of the time listening with your mouth shut, 1/3 rephrasing and asking clarifying questions to make sure that you've understood, and only after that, spend 1/3 of the time actually saying things (which now have a chance of being listened to...).

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Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by troymc on Saturday August 13, 2011 @11:53AM (#2881174)
It seems to me that the optimal percentage of time to spend listening should depend on the number of people in the meeting.
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Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by 5hoom on Saturday August 13, 2011 @08:51PM (#2882429)
My dad had a saying, "you have two ears & one mouth. Use them in that proportion".
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Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by AndyJPartridge on Saturday August 13, 2011 @10:46AM (#2881035)
Indeed.

We have two ears, and one mouth. 70/30%

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Re:Silence: Because I talked so rarely, people took the time... by nanospider on Saturday August 13, 2011 @01:35PM (#2881459)
It's actually 66.67% and 33.33%.
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