Listen

I was sent this article from a great organization dedicated to helping others enrich their lives - selfgrowth.com. As I was reading this I was thinking some politicians could benefit from this as well as alot of marriages not to mention businesses across the world. Take a little time to think about your own listening skills:


Are You Hearing What I'm Saying? --
10 Tips That Will Help You Improve Your Listening Skills - By Sharon L. Mikrut

Ernest Hemingway once said "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." How true that is. How many times has someone asked you how you were, but
doesn't take the time to listen to your response? They may cut you off, start talking about themselves, or walk away. If you're like most people, this behavior probably leaves a sour taste in your mouth. People want to be heard and listened to; they want to feel like someone cares.
Be honest with yourself. Do you exhibit the same behaviors that you dislike, or do you
make every attempt to hear and listen to those around you? If you find that your listening skills are poor or need tweaking, this article provides tips on how to be a better listener.

1. Make a commitment to improve your listening skills. It is important to note that listening is not a skill with which we are born. We have to learn how to develop good listening skills, and continuously practice what we learn. There are classes and books dedicated to helping individuals learn and perfect their listening skills.

2. Talk less and listen more. Most people like to talk, especially about themselves. As such, work on talking less and listening more. When listening to someone, you might want to jump in and offer an opinion or suggestion; however, make every effort not to do so. Give him the opportunity to be fully heard. In your mind, repeat every word he says, immediately after he has said it. This will help you keep your own thoughts at bay, as you will be listening only to the speaker's words.

3. Whether you are listening to a friend, co-worker, or employee, give them your undivided attention. Make sure there are no distractions (e.g., phones, computers, TVs) that would interfere with your giving full attention to the speaker. If the distractions are unavoidable, try to separate yourself from them to the best of your ability.

4. Display objectivity when listening to others. Set aside your own thoughts, judgments, and experiences. Act as if you don't have any attachment to what is being said.

5. When listening to people with different viewpoints, put yourself in their shoes. Although you may not agree with them, it might help you to better understand their perspective. Try to find a common ground; areas in which you both agree.

6. Wait until a person has finished speaking before you respond. If you are formulating a response while the person is speaking, you are not truly listening to him.

7. In order to communicate that the individual has been heard, summarize or paraphrase what he just said to confirm that you heard him correctly.

8. When listening to someone, takes notes, if needed, to remember important points.

9. As you listen to people, pay attention to how they are conveying their message. Are they loud? Are they speaking quickly? Which words do they use to express what they are feeling? What is the tone of their voice? Their tone generally reflects their emotions; how they are feeling about the issue. When people are angry, upset, or passionate about an issue, the volume of their voice increases, and the tone changes. When they are excited, they may talk faster. When they are depressed, they may talk slow, and the tone of their voice may be sad or devoid of any emotion.

10. When listening to others, also observe their nonverbal behaviors, as sometimes the individual's words and non-verbal behaviors will be contradictory. Are their arms and/or legs crossed? Are they looking directly at you or avoiding eye contact? Is their body turned away from you? Typically, these are signs that the person is "closed" from having a conversation; he may be embarrassed, or trying to avoid a confrontation, or simply doesn't want to talk. Conversely, if the individual is smiling, looking directly at you, and has a relaxed stance, he is open to dialogue.

Listening is one of the greatest gifts you can give to another person. By improving your listening skills, you will be a better friend, colleague, or supervisor. People will naturally gravitate towards you, and appreciate you. The above tips will help, but it your responsibility to continuously work on improving your listening skills. It may take time and effort, but the rewards will be worth it.

Copyright 2009 © Sharon L. Mikrut, All rights reserved.


http://www.selfgrowth.com

Copyright (C) 2009 by Self Improvement Online, Inc.
Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute this newsletter only in its entirety and provided copyright is acknowledged.

Great Class

It was our honor to work with another great group of students last month. Here's what a few said about their experience. We wish you lots of prosperity and love to hear from you along the way.

This school really helped motivate me in the direction I am trying to go. I am leaving with a positive attitude that I will be successful with hard work and determination.
- Jr. Bishop

Tons of information and all very helpful. Had all my questions answered. I feel like I now have the knowledge needed to go out and start this new career path and have a real shot at success. E. Ozuna

This class is the cornerstone and the foundation of any business. The instructor and the classmates were just amazing. We learned a lot of information. I’m a better broker because of Brooke. I recommend anyone who wants to succeed, call and get signed up! T. Brown

I have learned a lot about being a broker agent. I learned how to communicate with other people and how to contact carriers and shippers. B. Dill

Thanks to Drake Sliver for doing such an awesome job with these students. Drake is an incredible new consultant that works with us on several levels. Go out and make some relationships and win customers for life.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com

My Opinion

Seriously what do I think about the world today?

I’m concerned about the amount of debt our government has accrued but I’m not worried.

I don't worry about it. Worry doesn't accomplish anything but sleepless nights. God is in control. Be faithful, not fearful. Take action, go for a walk, get about 12 hugs a day and treat people right.

The people I hang with are small business people who work hard everyday. They don’t expect, count on or would even accept a handout. They feel accomplished and good about themselves because they truly earn the money they make. I have always hated the jobs I had where I wasn’t busy. I get bored easy. I don’t really understand those who try to get by without doing anything at work except collecting a paycheck.

Get up every day and do something you’re passionate about. Think about your future as if your allowing your imagination to go wild. Set some goals and write them down. Do something everyday to reach those goals.

Then set some more. Get after it. Everyone has the same God given right to success. You get to choose what you do everyday. Read some new books. I have been reading the Rich dad Poor dad books. They are amazingly simple to read and understand.


Do your best then give yourself some rest and play. I went kayaking again last night across the lake. It was about 6pm when we got there and we left at 9. I am amazed how each sunrise and each sunset is completely different and they all have their own unique beauty and emotional experience.

Sunsets and sunrises are daily gifts from God. Everything good is a gift from God. The more you're grateful for - the more you will have to be grateful for.



Everything will be fine.



Moving Forward,



Jeff
www.brooketraining.com
www.freightbrokertraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com

Answer the Phone

I spend a lot of time on the phone. It is critical for success as a freight broker to make a lot of calls and take a lot of calls. I make calls to find loads, to find carriers and to keep up with my freight broker school graduates. Here’s about.com’s home office advice on your business phone needs.

Use a Dedicated Phone for Your Home Business

One of the many benefits of working from home is having reduced overhead. However, the initial savings from sharing a phone line with your home and business can ultimately cost you. A home phone is less professional and may allow clients to question the legitimacy of the business. One of the common pitfalls of using a home phone is having to share voice mail that uses a message from both family and business. It confuses customers. Likewise, when sharing a phone, you risk having a child or other family member answer the phone, giving the impression that you are not running a real business. It is best to use a dedicated phone line for your home office. Of course, this can include using a cell phone, or a VoIP (Internet-based) phone.

Since my kids are now teens they never answer the home phone…their cell phone might as well be glued to their head, or text finger. So my home phone now doubles as my business phone. I believe in the business call always being answered by a person if at all possible. I use a phone service that has voice mail and forwarding so that I can forward the phone to my cell or to an associate who can take the call. In freight brokering and in education it is paramount to be available to field calls. You will miss countless opportunities if the call rolls over to an answering machine or service to often. You will also miss the opportunity to connect with someone in a personal way.

I can’t say enough: Success as a freight broker depends on relationship building with carriers, shippers and support companies. Face to face contact is the best, but a close second is the phone.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com
www.transportationtraining.com

Light Blog

Lighting and Atmosphere is an aspect of offices I don’t really think about that much. But where set up your desk can make a big impact on your productivity as well as your work attitude. Think about restarants. If I go in to a bright restaurant with big windows and comfortable chairs, I feel more welcome. I want to stay and enjoy my dining. But when I go into a fast food joint with hard plastic sticky bench seating all I want to do is grab a bite and run, except of course when my kids were little and mesmerized by the maze of neon slides and ball pit.

Studies actually document the effect lack of light has on people. Parts of the country that have more dark months have higher percentages of depressed people. SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder is depression because of seasonal darkness. Make sure you have some great light on your desk so you don’t get depressed while working long hours.

You will stay at your work longer and enjoy it more when you have a place that is comfortable, warm and bright. Here’s more from about.com’s article on setting up a home office:

Brighten Your Home Office with Proper Lighting

When possible, choose a space for your office that allows plenty of natural light. This provides a good foundation for a bright working space that can then be enhanced with more direct lighting. If your office lets in little or no outside lighting, the access lighting becomes even more important. Start by providing general, overhead lights that fill most of the work area. Next, consider adding task lighting, or desk lamps and floor lamps that can give concentrated lighting to your specific work area. Finally, regardless of the type of lighting available, make sure that your computer screen is positioned so that it prevents a glare from occurring. The object is to create balanced lighting that minimizes eyestrain.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com

De-Clutter

I’m a clean desk guy. My marketing director on the other hand has a desk full of paper almost all the time. A key to productive work is being organized in a way that works for you. There is a booming business of professional organizers. They come into whatever space you have let get out of control and tame the mess. It can be painful for packrats because they make you make hard decisions on what you should keep and what needs to be tossed.

Here’s more from about.com’s article on setting up a home office with regards to workspace balance.

Get Creative: Balance Workspace and Storage Requirements

Often, a home office has a limited amount of space and can feel cramped even with only a chair and desk in the room. However, maintaining a professional office is dependent upon good organization. That means planning a space that has plenty of room for both storage (files, supplies, etc) and an ample area to spread out and work. You may have to get creative. For example, build your own desk that uses file cabinets as the base with wood or a laminate countertop for the top. You may also have to store files in another room. Keep in mind, the general rule of thumb is that any files or supplies that you use frequently should be easily accessible. Again, the goal is to create an organized office space that meets all of your basic needs.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com
www.transportationtraining.com

A Freight Brokers Ideal Office

Last week I sent you point 1 of this great article
on setting up a home office from about.com. Here’s some more tips with a few edits and add ins from my experience as a freight broker.

2. Choose a Dedicated Area for Your Home Office Space

Once you have made a critical needs list, you have a better idea of how much room you actually need for an office. With that in mind, you can now choose a dedicated area of your home for office space. Ideally, the office should be in a quiet area with some level of privacy. This is especially important if you share the house with a spouse, children or even a roommate. For example, a spare room with a door may be best because it can help filter noise from the rest of the house. Or, if you will be meeting with clients in your home office, it may be more efficient to choose a room near the front entrance of the house.

I have worked from lots of spaces. My garage, an executive suite, a fancy office building, a not so fancy office building, a house boat (that was really fun, but fishing was distracting), a vacation resort and my home. That is the great thing about this business so long as you have internet, phone and fax you are set.

I live close to the Dallas Fort-Worth airport, a major transportation hub. Being close to such a hub helps me feel more a part of the industry even though I am working from my home. One of my students became a freight broker because she wanted to move out of the hustle and bustle of the city for a richer family life and for health reasons.

Atmosphere makes a big difference in how much you enjoy your work. Set up the atmosphere of your office that will encourage you to want to work, minimize distractions and keep you motivated to success.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com