BY LARRY KING
* The key is to focus. The truest thing I've ever heard in my life is: "I never learned anything when I was talking."
* If you don't understand what you are listening to, simply say: "I don't understand. Can you explain it to me further?" There is nothing wrong with not knowing. It is wrong, however, not to admit that you don't know.
* Sometimes it is hard to get someone to talk, but keep working at it. Here's a good case in point. I was interviewing an award-winning fighter pilot who had shot down 11 enemy planes during the Second World War. I had one hour with him.
My first question was why he enlisted in the air corps. His answer was, "I liked it." I could immediately tell that not only was this fellow nervous, but I would struggle to get him to speak for an hour. He was shaking so much that I switched gears and asked him about fear. Within 10 minutes, he was saying things like, "We dove through the clouds... I could see the whites of their eyes." In other words, I had moved him into his territory and expression came out. So the tip here is to look for the person's comfort zone.
* A conversation requires two people. Listen to what the other person is saying.
Larry King is the host of Larry King Live on CNN and author of How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: The Secrets of Good Communication.
