Zen of Listening, The: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction (Revised)

TV, radio, traffic, telephones, pagers - our minds are bombarded daily by constant noise and clutter. No wonder so many people find it increasingly difficult to listen and comprehend. Simple pieces of information such as names go "in one ear and out the other." Poor listening may have tragic consequences such as the Challenger disaster and the Potomac River crash of 1982, or it can result in smaller tragedies such as lost promotions, stalled marriages, and troubled children. Rebecca Shafir assures us that we can transform every aspect of our lives, simply by relearning how to listen. THE ZEN OF LISTENING is grounded in the Zen concept of mindfulness, a simple yet profound way of learning how to filter our distractions and be totally in the present. Rather than a list of tricks, this book is an all-encompassing approach allowing you to transform your life. Readers will be amazed at how simply learning to focus intently on a speaker improves the relationship, increases attention span, and helps develop negotiating skills. Learn the great barricades of misunderstanding, find out how to listen to ourselves, discover how to listen under stress, and boost our memory. This is a fun and practical guide filled with simple strategies to use immediately to enjoy our personal and professional lives to the fullest.

255 pages

About the author: Rebecca Z. Shafiris a certified speech/language pathologist, formerly with the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts and now with the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Her medical advice has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Computer Currentas well as local newspapers and Canadian publications. She has written for trade publications and national magazines/newspapers like The ASHA Leader, Bank One, and Selling Power. She has also consulted for articles in O, The Oprah Magazine, Family Life, and Parenting Magazine. She has been a private speech and voice consultant for over twenty years and has coached media personalities, business leaders, and political candidates. She leads listening workshops throughout New England. Rebecca Shafir is also a student of transcendental meditation and Zen studies with a black belt in martial arts. In promotion of the initial release of The Zen of Listening(Quest 2000), she appeared as a guest on over one hundred radio/TV shows throughout the U.S. and Canada during a seven-city book tour. In 2001 The Zen of Listening won Fore Word Magazine’s Book of the Year of Award in the category of self-help.