Learn About Your Listeners
A flutist began to take notice that his playing had a hypnotic effect on his audiences. The people listening to him sat motionless, as though they were in a trance. He soon discovered that he had the same effect on his friends' pets. Dogs and cats would sit spellbound while he played his flute.
Wondering if he could cast the same spell over wild beasts, the musician went to a jungle clearing in Africa, took out his flute and began to play. To his surprise, a lion, an elephant, and a gorilla charged into the clearing but quickly stopped and listened. The animals sat mesmerized by the music. Soon the clearing was filled with every kind of ferocious animal, each one sitting and listening intently.
Suddenly another lion charged out of the jungle and pounced on the flutist with a fatal attack. The first lion that was enjoying the music was bewildered and asked his jungle friend, "Why did you do that?" The charging lion cupped his paw behind his ear and asked loudly, "What?"
What could we learn from this little story?
- Not everybody rejecting you is doing this because of you – they are simply unable to understand.
- If we feel bad that someone is rejecting us, it doesn’t mean that the next person will do the same.
- Take the time to learn about your audience, so you are more sensitive to their needs.
