Work at Listening

Recently, I visited the International Listening Association and reviewed "Listening as a 10 Part Skill." One part I focused on and found interesting was the section titled "Work at Listening." This section was particularly interesting because it described college students attending classes to merely pretend to pay attention by nodding and following along with good posture, but in reality their minds are elsewhere. I completely identify with this. I often find myself attending lecture and mindlessly writing down what professors are writing on the board, but my mind is always focused on my job. I may be physically present in class, but I'm always mentally present at work thinking about how it went the day before, and how it will go that night and all the things I need to do. The book suggests that we give our conscious attention completely to the speaker to combat this mindless listening, which I plan on utilizing this week in my lectures.