This is a guest article Khyati Gulani. Khyati is an ex-cricketer now coaching state and academy cricket in Delhi.

A good listener is always successful in life because they never repeat what they know, rather they learn new things every time. Yet, We have often seen players going to their coaches and keep talking rather than listening.

 Players try to convince the coach by showing how much they know. Instead they should listen to the coach and try to understand what he or she is trying to teach you.

It's an old saying that when we are talking we only repeat what we know. But when we listen then we can learn something new. We as human beings need to prepare ourselves to listen. Everybody gets a chance to talk. It's important to understand when and where we should talk and when and where we should listen. I am not saying players should keep quiet when they go to the coaches. But first listen and then - when needed - talk and express yourself.

There is a huge difference in hearing and listening. Hearing is done by ears and listening is done by the mind. When we hear we tend to forget in few seconds. When we listen we can remember it for weeks.

How do coaches help players listen?

We should be like a good salesman.

We need to keep check on our words and statements. The first few seconds are important. Start topics with effective words to draw attention. Salesman talk is based on what the customer wants to hear. It's the same for coaches. At first. Then, once we win their attention, we can make them listen what we are trying to teach.

If you want to learn something you need to "empty yourself". If you are filled with experience and knowledge you will never be ready to learn. So, players should keep some space to grab some knowledge rather showing what they already know.

At the same time Coaches should know what they want to teach to players: how much to teach, when to stop and how long they should talk so that it should not flow out. It is essential to know when to start, when to stop and where to stop.

Listening is a two way process.