What does it mean to be a good listener? A good listener stays silent while the other person is getting his/her words out. A good listener “listens” with his/her whole body. Not only do we pay attention to body language, facial expressions, tonal inflections and words, we take notice of any empathic feelings (feeling another's emotion) that may guide us to a deeper understanding as well. A good listener understands that there is much to be learned from each and every person we come in contact with. We may even learn from small children. Afterall, they tend to view the world clearly, without judgment and with absolute trust in their inner guidance system.
A good listener does not plan his/her next words while the other person is still talking. In conjunction with this, a good communicator restates back to the other person how he/she interpreted his/her words. Oftentimes, this can be called “mirroring”. This practice promotes appreciation and validation from the speaker and predominantly stops miscommunications! When the speaker feels “heard”, he/she doesn’t feel the need to go on and on and on! Furthermore, this encourages the speaker to be an active listener in turn! It’s a win-win situation.
I invite you to slow down your responses, listen with your whole body and restate what has been said to you. Watch in fascination how your world changes around you!
Namaste’
No comments:
Post a Comment