Mind Your Ears

Words can be deceiving- this specially holds true if you are not paying the due attention to words. And to be attentive all we have to do is keep our ears open. Our ears act as the medium for comprehending those sounds that hit the eardrum. No, this is not a Physics or a Biology class. Let me get to the point by recalling a classic event.

It was the final semester of my MBA course and we were looking forward to get placed with some reputed organization and get our careers rolling. The competition was pretty much evident. Tensed faces around campus, people were glued to the notice boards for updates on visiting companies seeking us, busy discussing probable Group Discussion (GD) topics and interview questions.

Amidst such a situation, one of the leading MNC banks visited the camp, and there was a hullabaloo to post the CVs on the college Intranet. Within a day-an-a half, the bank had shortlisted some 100 candidates for the post of Assistant Managers, and one of my close friends, Suraj (name changed) found his name in that premier list. This guy, always short of confidence, considered this to be a landmark in his life and couldn't control his emotions. Suraj was on cloud nine and, for the first time, took this is a positive turn. He was raring to go and bag the offer. The GDs were scheduled for the next week, and Suraj had prepared really hard.

The D-Day finally arrived. Suraj was all set to shout and be heard. He was of the notion that shouting well was the only criteria for cracking GDs. However, whatever, the undercurrent of 'underconfidence' always played in his mind, and he felt inferior to others. With deep breaths, he entered the room, took his seat and waited for the topic to be declared. The invigilator declared the topic to be discussed, and Suraj could not believe his ears. The topic was "Same sex, what next?" as heard by him. What? Can that ever be a topic for discussion in an MBA placement program? Isn't that being too crazy? Suraj thought on these lines while jotting down the topic on a piece of paper. He was totally blank, finding no clues to speak on that weird topic. Two minutes were allotted to the candidates for putting their thoughts in place. And, surprisingly, everyone except Suraj were busy scribbling points and issues regarding the topic. Suraj, already low on confidence, felt like kicking himself. On the first place, he could not make out how the others were so confident to speak on such a filthy issue. However, he tried to do some brainstorming on his own without even taking a look at what his neighbours were upto. He thought, "Let me think deeply- Male and Female are the two sexes known to me; so are they talking about eunuchs? No, no, the topic is 'Same sex, what next?' Then it is surely about homogeneous sex, lesbians. But the issue is what lies above that? umm..Metrosexual, retrosexual.....Ohhh!I am not sure about these terms? What do I do now? I am a goner,this is a lost opportunity...still, let me speak first, that will create an impression". Two minutes were over, and the invigilator asked them to begin. Suraj, desperate to give it a go, was about to speak. But before he could do that, his neighbour started off uttering, "The Sensex currently standing at 15,000 is a sure sign of progress as far as FDI is concerned. India is on its way to prove its mettle to the world...." Surrounded by shock and awe, Suraj raised his eyebrows and thought of killing himself. The topic was "Sensex, what next?" and he comprehended it to be "Same sex, what next?" He could not contribute to that discussion just because he was out of his mind. Else he had done some serious readings on the stock market performance, and was ready with data. That was, infact, a 'lost opportunity'.

However, he cracked the next GD and got into a top notch consultancy firm. That morning, he made sure he cleaned up his ears with earbuds and was focused on the topic.

So next time when you hear something, make sure you are all ears and be a good listener. That makes the job of the speaker easy as well. Communication is not complete unless the comprehension is correct.