Listening is both a gift, and an art form. Someone said that the reason God gave us one mouth, and two ears, was because he wanted us to listen twice as much as we speak.

Listening can be difficult to do, but with a little bit of determination, you can teach yourself to become an excellent listener.

Many times we might find ourselves thinking about a reply to someone else's thought, before they've even finished communicating that thought. Or during a classroom lecture, we allow our thoughts to drift, and end up missing the details of an important topic, or assignment.

When we read, our eyes move with the speed of our understanding. When we write, we control the speed at which our pen moves, but listening is totally different.The problem is that we can listen four times faster than others can speak.

The fact is, that 80% of the information a teacher discusses in the classroom is on the test. You could actually get a good test score without even opening a textbook, if you have good listening skills.

The key to training yourself, and learning how to really listen, is taking notes.