Official Review: Listening by Jeffrey Hugh Newman

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Kibet Hillary
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Official Review: Listening by Jeffrey Hugh Newman

Post by Kibet Hillary »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Listening" by Jeffrey Hugh Newman.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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How can one become a better listener? What distinguishes a poor hearer from a good one? What makes a person an effective negotiator?

Listening! is a book that was authored by Jeffrey Hugh Newman. It is approximately 180 pages long and was published by Walnut Road Press LLC in 2014. The primary aim of the author is to aid the reader to become a more skilled negotiator in life, in both the mundane interactions and the business world. Consequently, he comprehensively and masterfully addresses listening as a fundamental ingredient of communication from his vast experience. The author explains how and why one must become a master in the art of listening. The key barriers to developing in this area and how to overcome them were discussed as well.

This book will usher and assist you to walk down the path of becoming a kinder, gentler, and more graceful person. Whereas the current society may view these qualities as a sign of weakness, the author makes it clear that they are a sign of strength, and therefore very essential. Moreover, I like the emphasis the author placed on personal responsibility. Many anecdotes were provided to illustrate the fact that people are always in charge of their attitudes and how they respond to varying situations, especially unpleasant encounters. One could then learn how to be a better negotiator even in setups that could be termed uninviting.

Often, I have relished devouring a book only to reach the end and begin trying to obtain words to describe it. This one was exceptional. Personally, what I appreciated most in the book were the pragmatic statements that appeared to be the underlying factors in improving one’s listening skills. One of them was an appeal to always commence each conversation with a belief that what the other person is going to say is important, and hence I am going to learn something from it. This statement, as follows, became a solid foundation for all other reasons and also what held them together. Several other conditions, such as having a positive and receptive mental attitude, were equally adequately described.

There are many things that I enjoyed about the book. The author provided real-life scenarios and then provided specific steps to help one become a better listener and negotiator. It was great being reminded of the need to habitually focus on the present moment. It is an undeniable and tragic fact that we are always tempted to rush to arrive at a destination that seems to vanish whenever we approach it. This affects routine interactions because people are constantly tempted to think of what they could be doing or will be doing afterward. Consequently, this affects hearing. Therefore, this had to be adequately addressed.

The language used in the book was straightforward, and editing was also professionally done. I discovered only one error. However, there is one aspect of the book that I disliked. The title and the first chapters dwelt on how to become an excellent listener, but the concluding chapters were about negotiation. This would have undoubtedly caused me to take away one star, but the book description states that it is meant for those who want to improve their negotiation skills. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to all readers who are ardent fans of self-help books. It will appeal most to those who want to improve their listening and negotiation skills.

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Listening
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Connie Otwani
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Post by Connie Otwani »

Wow, listening is indeed a fundamental ingredient of communication yet it is not given much attention. There are too many lessons on speaking and writing. This is a nice change, and your review is thorough and insightful. Thanks for the great review!
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Post by Phelicia Gloria »

The wise always listen more than talking , this is an educative book that everyone should read. Thanks for the detailed review.
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Mukukamm30
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Post by Mukukamm30 »

Sounds like I can make use of the book because I am a poor negotiator. I would be interested to know the key barriers to listening and how to overcome them.
Great review.
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Post by Kola+wole »

Listening and mindfulness go hand in hand. I like the part where you said the author made the appeal to always commence each conversation with a belief that what the other person is going to say is important, and hence I am going to learn something from it. Communication will definitely become easier and flow smoothly if everyone can adhere to the author's appeal.
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Post by Elvis Best »

The concept of this book sounds very interesting. Thanks for the informative review. Good job!
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Post by Star_and_Buck »

I love those real-life scenarios in the book. Nice book and a nice review as well.
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Post by LuciusM »

The book sounds great and would give it a try. The review is well written.
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Post by Mutai Marshal »

I love how you summarized the book. It's true that poor listeners cannot be negotiators. It sounds like a well researched and riveting book.
Great review
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Post by rahilshajahan »

Listening seems like a trivial thing; but after reading your review, I retract my statement. Thanks for an insightful review!
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Post by Honest-reviewer »

This book seems to be quite informative. I would definitely want to read this one. Thanks for your insightful review!
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Damis Seres Rodriguez
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Post by Damis Seres Rodriguez »

Now that sounds like a quite useful book to read. Great review!
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