The people in the room were tense. Five young engineers were sitting with their 31 . They were trying to settle details of an important new plant site for a major client.
Suddenly one of the young engineers gave what he thought was a good solution 32 the problem. What he had to say was 33 by an uncomfortable silence. The boss then laughingly pointed out that the same proposal had been made and 34 some minutes before.
The incident seemed funny 35 the time, but several months later it did not. After the project had been successfully finished, most of the engineers who had worked on it were 36 . But the young man who had made a fool of himself at the meeting was not on the list.
37 The young engineer swore that he had never heard the proposal made and rejected. 38 He was a victim of a bad listening habit that he didn’t know he had.
Bad listening habits can hurt you a lot in your daily living. Much of your success, both in your work and social life, 39 how you listen. A number of major industries and more than twenty leading colleges 40 . They have set up “listening clinics” and courses to find out what is wrong—and what to do about it.
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