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Deepak Gupta my SUCCESS! my CHOICE
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and appeals to us. This requires the speakers to think carefully about their audience -- what may interest

them and what will be the best way to engage them.”

“Have you ever been put off by someone who is pretending to listen to you?”

“Yes Ron. It is such a belittling feeling when that happens; it is as if I am being insulted! It is so

upsetting that often I try to end the conversation abruptly. Why do people do that?”

“It happens mostly when people think they already know ‘what is being said’ or when it either does

not interest them or meet their expectation. But as I said earlier, conversation is a relationship and the

speakers too have a responsibility for such listening behavior.”

"Thanks Ron. This is clear and makes a lot of sense to me. Could you please also elaborate Ask?

There is a general belief that questions are asked only to pull an individual down or kill a proposal!”

“Most certainly. I am glad you ‘asked’. Yes, it is often true. Instead of seeking knowledge and

learning through Ask, we often use questions to display our position, power, or knowledge. But it need

not be this way. Pertinent questions are particularly important in effective communication. Well-

thought-out sincere questions open the door to knowledge and understanding. They also allow a

different perspective and consideration for the person answering them.”

“Question or ‘Ask’ is probably the most potent and misused aspect of communication. Its use

determines if the communication becomes threatening and defensive, or open and effective.”

“I can never forget my induction to the power of ‘Ask’.”

“I was invited to make an important proposal to the previous CEO few years back. After working

and reworking the proposal several times myself and with my bosses, I sent it to him for pre-reading.

I was invited to meet him after a few days.” Ron said reminiscing.