Farmer Communication Skills

I had a great dinner last night with a great friend and mentor, Stuart Crawford, and his family. They are passing through Ames and were able to make time to stop by and break bread (it was the deep dish style bread with cheese, pizza sauce and lots of toppings) and share some time. I really enjoy spending time with friends and family, but sometimes we get into ruts (especially when you have little kids) of not allowing that to happen. While we didn't solve all of the world's problems last night, we had a great time just sitting back and talking. It seems that we get so wrapped up in technology and information that we overlook the enjoyable items from our past. I remember when my parents would invite family and friends over almost on a weekly basis. They would sit around the dinner table and drink coffee and just talk. I was amazed, and still am, on how farmers can sit and talk for hours. Every time I go home I try to learn these "farmer communiciation skills" but really I think it comes down to caring about the other people that you are talking with. Too often we are worried about what we are going to say next that we miss what the other person is saying. While this is a bad habit I suffer from, I am working at over coming it. My oldest son, Noah, when we would talk use to grab my face in his hands and make me look at him. He knew if he didn't have eye contact, sometimes dad wasn't listening (pretty darn smart, not sure where he got that from).