Recently, I was invited to attend a seminar at Lincoln Financial Field hosted by our insurance broker, Johnson Kendall Johnson (JKJ). Many of you will be happy to know that no alarms were sounded, the stadium is as glorious as when I entered and I was not approached by security at any time during the day! (ahem, I happen to cheer for another team, but I DID support those Eagles during their march to the Super Bowl!!) Anyway, back to my story...

 

The keynote speaker for the event was a woman named Neen James, an international speaker and author who hails from Australia but currently lives in Doylestown. From the moment she began speaking, I knew immediately that she had captivated my attention. Between her "less than 5'frame" to her amazing Aussie accent, I was hanging on every word. I knew immediately that the subject of her message that day would eventually become the message I am relaying to all of you.

 

She recently authored a book called Attention Pays and its focus is on the importance of Intentional Listening. One story which she relayed to us was about a time when she was visiting her next-door neighbor for coffee. Her neighbor's 5-year old son, Donovan was dressed in his Superman costume and was desperately trying to get her attention by asking her question after question. While she was answering him, she was not giving him the attention he expected so with great exasperation, he climbed into her lap, took her face between his hands, looked at her directly, and said, "Pay attention to me! Listen with your eyes!"

 

I realized at that moment how often that I find myself in situations, both at work and at home where I'm not completely engaged with the person who's speaking to me. With all the distractions that are going on around me, it's so easy to be thinking of things that need to be done; decisions left to be attended; and calls that need to be answered. It's also easy to fall into the trap of thinking of your response before the person finishes their thought!   Her message is that instead of hearing 'Pay Attention', we should realize that 'Attention Pays'; just by mastering the art of really listening! People will respond and know that you are invested in them and that you value their presence.

 

And so, I am now fascinated with this author and her book. The power of Intentional Attention is one that we can all practice.   Thank you JKJ University for introducing this woman to all of us and allowing her to spread her energy throughout the room. And I challenge each one of you to consider reading her book, but most importantly....

 

"Listen with your eyes"!!