Are you listening?

Many a time people take listening for granted. They think they are listening but in actual sense, they are not. Of course all of us are listening since we have ears but what are we listening to. If you make a survey, you will discover that many of us are more of into 'general listening'. We just listen in general, not really picking up what transpire around us. If we just simply ask someone around us what the announcement is about, it would most probably be that you won't get what you want. This is because our ears are not focusssed on the announcement or any telecast for that matter.
Listening is a specialised skill that needs to be trained, well-trained, in order to get the gist of the subject matter. It is not easy but it is not impossible, either. One reason why many who attend seminar, meeting, etc do not get much from the session is because they are not sure what to listen for. In other words, these attendees are not trained to use their ears well. It is easy to say, "Pay atrention to the speaker, or " Be focus". But how?
Let's give some thought to this skill before we lose out on a lot of things in life.