Hi, everybody.
It’s time to re-focus on something I’ve been telling others I’ve been working on for the past couple of years: Active listening.
What is active listening? Well, to me it’s very simple. It’s just listening. It’s not trying to listen and coming up with what you’re going to say back while the individual is talking to you. It’s just listen, think, respond if needed. I need to do better at that, both personally and professionally.
Why is it important? Again, simple to me. If I’m telling someone a story and right when I finish they jump into something about them or, well, really any quick response, I know they weren’t actively listening. They were waiting for me to stop talking so they could chime in.
I don’t want to be that person anymore. I’ll do my talking here and my listening out in the “real world”. Wish me luck. Also, try it yourself–you’ll be surprised how much more you’ll learn from each and every conversation you have throughout your day.
I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.
The Two Sides of Me 