How Well Do I Listen To Other's?
Do you want to be a good listener to yourself so that you can be a good listen to others?
There are two ways to listen intently to others.
- Audioally
- Visionally
Every human must discern self-awareness, because it is the foundation of mindful listening.
Audioally, we must be able to stay present, open and unbiased as we lecture the other
person even if they don't line up with the other person ideas or desire. Good listening means mindful listening.
How often do you think you listen to others?
How often do you feel listened to?
With the intention part is having a genuine interest in the other person views, interest, experience, views and feelings are so critical when communicating to one another, whether it's in listting, writing or reading. The elements of being a great an intentive listening is a part of your intellectual development.
Here are a few key points to practice:
- Be there for the other person. When engaging into a conversation, be sure to open yourself up to the other person with the intention to listen fully and with interest, empathy and mindfulness.
- Pay attention to your responses Take note to your reactions as you begin listening with the intention to listen. As you are approached, wait to be spoken to or you may have to be the one that initiate the conversation.
- Use your reflection skills to listen attentively. think about what the other person is saying, paraphrase, and make the other person feel heard
- Ask and affirm, use open ended questions to clarify your understanding. Now acknowledge the other person point of view.
Visually:
Our vision is a crucial component of the human body. With our eyes we can do several engaging task. We use them to see and to read. There is one more that most people don't consider our eyes to be a component for listening too.
We can listen with our eyes. But are we great listeners visually?
Well ask yourself; Do I read other people content with understanding and engagement?
If it's not interesting , do I read it any way with the intent to feel and understand the author's point of view?
Some posts are just so boring, I should just skem through it and say LIKE and go ahead to the next one.
I don't feel like reading all of this post, it's to much, about 1000 words. Well I will just commet and forget it, who know I didn'read it?
I will comment, but it will be something cotrary to what the post is about.
This question doesn't make sense, well I will just go to the next one.
I know some of you have experienced one or more of the above, if so feel free to share it!
When I wirte my things to-do-list, I make sure I include things that I want to do that involves interacting with individuals and groups. Three key elements that i must include in my to-do-list are:
- I will Listen to people when I am asked to read their post.
- I will read their post with the intent to understand their points of views.
- I will comment back what is relevant to what I read in their post.
Okay, Friends, I just wanted to touch home on relfection, and to add on to our professional development list. Remember, there are always room for it!
Engage, Enjoy, Like
Leave a comment if you wish!
Louisa B
2/12/18
Recent Comments
27
Sometimes I feel we are suppose to be multitasking every thing that we forget how to focus, even when we are in conversation.
Linda, I know, with so much to focus on, you can easily get bottled up. Indeed it is multitasking.
Although we are expected to multitask, i think it is better for ourselves to focus all our attention on the task in hand and then we find pleasure. Regardless of how mundane the task is.
If you are taking the time for conversation, put the phone away, switch the tv off and respect and enjoy that conversation.
I recently observed a man walking into a pole whilst looking at his phone in the palm of his hand. The mans face went many shades and he nearly fell to the floor.
I am decent enough to make sure he was ok. He was multi tasking. His focus should have been enjoying the walk whilst travelling to his next point of destination.
Wayne
Nicely said, and a great story to illustrate our focus! Glad he seemed okay afterwards, it was good you were there to help out.
Thanks, Louisa, for the reminder that we sometimes get callous when we read a post. We don't like for people to treat us that way so we owe it to others to do our best for them.
Tanya
Tanya, really appreciate your response. It happens to the best of us. And of course none are perfect.
Thanks much for connecting.
Very good tips Louisa, Use your reflection skills to listen attentively stand out the most for me. Great post.
Nice read Louisa!
I wonder about other people’s ability to listen. I have for a while been saying that “people hear but they don’t listen”, they don’t like being told that.
Someone else gave me a different way of viewing it and that is simply people are just to preoccupied with their own things to listen to others?
Some just like to give opinions and move on, opinions and move on and more opinions!
I know some that don’t listen, they can provide a real convincing argument to many topics but they are often incorrect?
Does anyone listen?
If you have the ability to consciously listen to others, this is a wonderful trait!
Wayne
I agree with you, Wayne. They hear but don't listen. Listening is something people have to work at. Most people don't have the patience to listen.
They are just too busy trying to think of something to add to the conversation or they don't want to take the time to listen, or they can't imagine anyone having anything interesting enough that they should listen and so on.
Listening is a skill that not only requires practice, it also requires respect of the person you are listening too.
Tanya
Ooooooohhhhh you are spot on with that Tanya! Very well said and I thought I was imagining these things!
Wayne
My goodness, teacher, thank you! I know you're a retiring teacher. Most of all, I just love how you just summed it all up so perfectly.
I really appreciate your inventiveness to readiness and listening skills.
Nice connecting with you!
Wayne, I can see very well that you paid a lot of attention while growing-up. Mother taught you very well.
I appreciate your input.
Tanya just brought it all home!
I love to ask interventional questions, but most people didn't care to respond. My guess is that they don't have good listening skills.
Reality hurts.
Thank you! Many blessings!
Mom was good, she was a very good listener, always took an interest in everyone, a lot like my grandfather.
Just put it down to people being to preoccupied and multitasking as Linda states!
As humans, I think we over complicate our lives. Would anyone listen if you told them so, probably not.
Focus on improving ourselves!
Wayne
Actually, I am a mental health counselor who has been trained to listen, but no worries. I can practice it and teach it!
I have enjoyed connecting with you as well.
Anytime! How wonderful it's connecting with you.
Thank you for replying.
Great field to be in.
Helping Others!
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When it comes to reading a person's content and trying to comment on it....I will take notes. If is a subject that I really have no clue about, those notes help me to do additional research or have relevant questions.
It's not so easy when you are face to face with someone. Sometimes we say a lot in a short amount of time. If it's a subject that you are not familiar with then can be very hard to keep up and try to respond accordingly. Would it be rude to take notes while you are talking to someone face to face?
Thanks,
Heather
Heather, to answer your question, I feel that taking notes are personal for each individual.
Depending on your setting, whether it be with an individual or group.
Now, if this is a person to person, and this is a person you don't know, and if what they are saying is of importance, I would ask for
Permission to take note.
Some people maybe become inferior if you just start taking notes.
On the other hand, if it's a group, yes, it is okay to do so.
Even if it's a person you know very well, I wouldn't just start writing notes out of the blue.
Constitutionally, it is a person's right to privacy of what's been said.
I hope this help in understanding precisely to the question asked.
Thank you for replying!
LB