How to Annoy Your Co-Workers

Do you ever find yourself falling into any of these habits? If so, it’s likely that you’re annoying your co-workers.

1. Interrupting your co-workers.
2. Not looking at your co-workers while you are talking to them.
3. Rushing your co-workers and making them feel that they’re wasting your time.
4. Showing interest in something other than understanding your co-workers and their needs.
5. Getting ahead of your co-workers who are speaking and finishing their thoughts for them.
6. Not responding to your co-workers’ requests or questions.
7. Saying, “Yes, but . . .,” when your co-workers ask you a challenging question, which can sound like you’re discounting their opinions or thoughts.
8. Focusing on YOU and not your co-workers by topping your co-workers’ stories with “That reminds me. . .” or “That’s nothing, let me tell you about what happened to me. . .”
9. Forgetting that your co-workers’ vocabulary may not be as large as yours, and using words that they don’t understand.
10. Talking, when you should be listening.

Learn more about the impact listening has on our lives at the International Listening Association website: http://www.listen.org.

Adapted from “10 Irritating Listening Habits” by Larry Barker & Kittie Watson, found in Listen Up: What You’ve Never Heard About the Other Half of Every Conversation.