Relate the message to personal experiences (Personalize)

Visualize the message
Another tactic for active listening, to put the message into a picture, will help keep the listener's mind on the message. In fact, the beauty of this tactic is that it allows one to use some of that 75 per cent of the mental capacity not required-to keep up with the message. Consequently, a person can commit more effort to listening, thus reducing the possibility of missing a major part of the message. Finally, the retention of the message improves because a picture can now be associated with it.
In the annual meeting seen earlier, a manager might imagine the 16 new sales personnel in the western region as 16 little people running from different points of a U.S. wall map to California. Absurd as the device might be, these 16 little people running across a wall map will help the manager remember the main point of the message.

Relate the message to personal experiences (Personalize)
Effective listeners are those who search a message for information that has special meaning for them. A topic is naturally more interesting and easier to concentrate on if it personally relates to the listener. In fact, those who relate the message to personal experiences ensure that the key elements of listening, willingness, and motivation are present.
The managers listening to the president in the previous example may also personalize the message by asking questions of themselves: "How will these four products affect my job?" "Will continued expansion of the electronic group affect me?" "Will those 16 new salespeople increase my work load for the western region?" "How will the stable market in the home implement group affect our division?" In answering thes~