cused on the next question, the next theme, the next line of at- tack, that they do not listen to and thereby fail to absorb the impact of the answers given to their questions. Thus they do not make adjustments in their ques- tions that would lead to extract- ing more productive information. Listening is a diffi cult skill.
Listening, as opposed to merely hearing, requires focus, analysis, preparation, self-control, knowl- edge, an agile intellect and a sense of where you want to go. Useful listening requires goals and purposes. Listening is anal- ogous to the distinction made by clay target shooters between seeing and vision. Seeing is a sensory impulse where the brain acknowledges something is no- ticed: take a look—the target is by the tree! Vision, on the other hand, is
the integration of many stimuli analyzed by the brain: where the
target is going; its fl ight path, velocity, distance and where the target is most susceptible to being hit. Just as the brain integrates data through vision, the mind must integrate data by listening.
It is fundamental
that engaging cred- ibly with the media requires clarity of purposes and goals. Extending beyond your purposes and having unfocused or unrealistic goals are paths to losing your credibility.
Listening can disclose the tone, the values, the biases, the
40 USA Shooting News | Spring 2013
assumptions and the traps to be set, if any, by the person asking the question. The question “when did you take up target shooting?” is different in ideology and val- ues from the question “when did you begin using weapons?” Careful analysis from listen-
ing can disclose opportunities to elaborate or enhance your mes- sage. For example, assume you are asked, “Did you suffer a loss of confi dence when your gun was stolen and you had to borrow a gun?” If you listen superfi cially and deductively, you might give this answer: “No, not really. The borrowed gun fi t the same.” But if you listen analytically and with imagination, you will
be aware that the simplistic question actually incorporates complex issues regarding the foundation for confi dence and your ability to sustain confi dence under adverse circumstances. This recognition opens the door to an answer richly endowed with facts and emotions that will en- hance your persuasiveness. Thus, you might reply: “No loss of con- fi dence occurred. I trained every day; I shot under diffi cult circum- stances; I worked on my me- chanics and my mental game. I visualized, weight-lifted and pre- pared. So, no, using a different gun did not shake my confi dence at all.”