How often are you in a conversation when you are constantly being interrupted by someone?
Oftentimes, I find myself being interrupted when answering a question that the person asked.
Far too often people are either listening to reply or not really listening at all.
Perhaps listening is an underdeveloped skill in today's world.
Or maybe it is conversing with meaningful dialogue that is the lost skill. People want to be heard, but they don't want to listen to what others have to say. They may hear you speaking, but they don't really listen to understand -- they listen to know when you've finished (or not) so that they can resume speaking.
Maybe for today we can all try listening -- not listening to reply, not listening to hear, but listening to understand.
Listening takes purposeful practice.
Truthfully, sometimes I do not converse because it is just a waste of time.
John
4 comments:
I agree, many people don't actually listen intently to what the other person is saying and just want to direct the conversation towards their own topic. I have a friend who always repeats my last 2 or 3 words.... so annoying! And won't let me finish what I am saying before interrupting. A good friend, but....grrrrrr!
@Shammickite - I have a friend that does that also but just with me. It's called echolalia. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/echolalia
Listening is such an important skill, and so rare! I too am a work in progress.
This even happens in writing. I sometimes get comments on blog posts, or responses to comments, which make it clear the person hardly even read what they are supposedly responding to.
Listening properly is a necessary skill, and one which will make you stand out and be remembered as someone worth talking with.
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