Many professionals believe that they're highly attentive, but 70% of them actually exhibit poor listening habits in the workplace, according to a 2020 University of Southern California report.
So you've got to be clever if you want to grasp someone's attention, says Matt Abrahams, a communication consultant and organizational behavior lecturer at Stanford University.
Polite requests for his students' attention fell on deaf ears, drowned out by their "chit-chatting," he tells CNBC Make It.
It only takes four seconds for silence to become awkward, according to a Dutch psychology study published in 2011.
"It's very hard to stand in silence, but that can be very helpful," he adds.
Persons:
you've, Matt Abrahams, It's, Abrahams
Organizations:
University of Southern, Stanford University, CNBC
Locations:
University of Southern California