Become a good listener. This exercise asks you to list your closest friends, relatives, school peers, and work associates. Rank them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning always fascinating and 10...

Become a good listener. This exercise asks you to list your closest friends, relatives, school peers, and work associates. Rank them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning always fascinating and 10 meaning boring. If you fi nd that you’ve labeled most as boring, you probably have one of two problems: you are either socializing or working with the wrong people, or you are a poor listener. The likelihood is the latter. To improve listening skills, compliment people and encourage them; this increases the chance that they will continue conversing with you, and it is a valuable skill in both your personal and professional life.