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"Nothing I say this day
will teach me anything.
So if I’m going to learn,
I must do it by listening.”
- Larry King
In this #MeFirst culture, people speak a lot ...
about themselves.
Folks may listen,
but they often are merely waiting
for us to pause for breath
so they can jump into the conversation to speak about what concerns them most ...
themselves.
This is an isolated society,
hemmed in by brick walls of
"Can you hear me?"
If everyone is texting,
then no one is reading to pause for reflection
to what has just been written
and what it meant to the person sending.
When you truly listen,
you tell the other person,
"This is important to me.
YOU are important to me."
When people feel heard, they feel validated ...
feel as if they are of worth to someone other than to just themselves.
You don't have to solve the problem, just wince at the impact of the blow to another.
You don't have to agree with the person.
Merely acknowledge their viewpoint.
Truly hearing someone
is not a multi-task experience.
If you are not focused on the person,
you are missing the point of
their speaking.
HAVE YOU TRULY LISTENED
TO SOMEONE TODAY?
A lot of people hear but few really listen.
ReplyDeleteExactly. :-(
Deletelistening is the very first lesson in learning & communication. I'm often amazed how listening seems to be a dying attribute in a world where everyone wants to be heard, while few if no one listens.
ReplyDeleteIn high school Psychology, & at the local JC, the Teacher sent everyone outside, 25 students in all. One student remained in the classroom, and was told a short 3 minute story. One by one each student was led in, told the story by the 1st student, and so on. By the 3rd=4th person, the story became quit distorted, taking turns with details devoid of the original story. By the end & last student, the story had nothing in common with the first story told. A great lesson for High School students, imho.
What a great teacher that was! :-)
Delete