I’m seventy-seven so I’m sure my hearing isn’t as good as it used to be, but it’s not terrible. At least that’s what I believe. The thing is I’ve been listening to conversations my whole life, and some are more interesting than others. As a result, I’m not always in the listening mode, sometimes I’m just zoning out. So I think it would be helpful to have a lead in phrase, before the real question or conversation. You know something that triggers the mind to start listening. This could be a lot of different things, maybe a shout, “Hey! Listen up” or “Watch out”. There are an endless number of phrases, you’ll have to decide what works for you.
Truly, zoning out is something I do more of lately, so the first five words are gone before I hit the listening button. It’s not really my hearing it’s just that I haven’t gotten into my listening mode. Sometimes using a key word in the lead in phrase might be enough to jar the person into a listening mode. Key words to consider for men are beer, guitar, cigar and sports car. Use any of these key words as part of the lead-in phrase and you should get an immediate response. “Honey, can I get you a beer?” or “Don’t you need a knew guitar? Women on the other hand might respond better using words like diamonds, dinner or cruise. You’ll have to learn what works best by trial an error.
Also, it’s extremely difficult when a conversation is continued from an earlier one. To men it’s always a new topic, not one from an hour or even five minutes ago. Remember our resting position is zoning out. A women’s brain is always active. It’s not a bad thing just different.
I guess the bottom line is don’t write off the other person as someone who’s hard-of-hearing just because you haven’t started the conversation with an interesting phrase or key word. “Just saying . . .”
