Have you ever stopped to observe the way you listen? It can be either listening to yourself, your child or your partner? And how are you heard by others?
When we try to listen, we find it extremely difficult as we are always projecting our opinions and ideas. When these factors dominate, we hardly hear what the other is saying to us.
In the book “You’re not listening: what you’re missing and why it matters” the author of the book Kate Murphy says that her research has led to the conclusion that “Listening goes beyond simply hearing what people say. It also involves paying attention to how they say it and what they do while they are saying it, in what context, and how what they say resonates within you.” It continues: “Good listeners ask good questions. One of the most valuable lessons I learned as a journalist is that anyone can be interesting if you ask the right questions. That is, if you ask really curious questions that do not have the hidden agenda to correct, save, advise, convince or correct.”
Active listening is the way we work our listening to enhance the way we act with more awareness using the maximum of our emotional intelligence. Do you believe that this is a skill that needs to be developed by many of us these days?
Source: NY Times
