The other day, I asked my wife if she remembered what she scored high on, when she took vocational surveys in junior high school.
“Engineering” she said.
That makes sense. For our entire married life, she’s been a problem solver.
I didn’t score high in anything that I can remember.
Talking came easy. I talked a lot in casual conversation. Occasionally it got me into trouble.
More often than not, I talked to talk. I tried hard at a certain time to sound intelligent and use big words. That led to people saying they couldn’t quite understand what my point was. The truth is, there was no point, I didn’t know what I was saying.
What changed me was money. I became a management consultant. There’s a lot of money in consulting if you learn two things: one, don’t use three syllable words, and two, stop talking and start listening.
I learned to speak directly and listen intently, resulting in more money coming in than I anticipated. My wife continued to solve problems. She built the home we live in, and she learned to manage the increased inflow of money.
Lesson: my wife’s vocational survey was spot on. My talking turned into listening.