Transcript of Audio
Hello everyone.
It is my sincerest hope you are well. Our topic for the month of July is Listening.
Last week I mentioned listening is a skill. I think listening is one of those skills that we assume is innate.
It is silly we think this. There are 8 billion people in the world. That is 8 billion ways to be sure that it is impossible to be born with the skill of listening.
What I believe we are doing is practicing dismissive listening vs empathetic listening. Do not be embarrassed; I’m guilty of this too.
Does this sound familiar?
“Oh, it could be worse, I had a friend who…”
Or
“You know what you should do…”
You are a kind person, a caring person. It is the very best of human nature to hear a problem and want to help, but were you asked to help? Or were you asked to listen?
It is important that when you are listening you control your own emotional response. Your purpose here is to stand as a witness to someone else’s emotions and experiences.
Resist the urge to interject with anecdotes and suggestions. Any interjections from you should be to encourage conversation and to confirm you understand what you are hearing.
Ask the speaker questions about what they are saying and be careful not to assume anything.
Practice empathetic listening by doing these three things:
1. Assuring your speaker you understand
2. Give undivided attention
3. Be quiet
May love and peace find you, beloved. Let’s chat more about listening next week.
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