I'm all ears dear...

 

 

Listening to someone is very different from giving them ‘talk time’. 

Hearing someone doesn’t really require your conscious effort. Your ears don’t have an ‘off and on switch’ so, save for cases of hearing problems, you’re pretty much hearing all the time.

 

Listening however, is as much of an action as hearing is a process. It involves consciously paying attention to verbal AND non-verbal messages from the speaker, with an aim to take in, analyse and understand their point of view and whatever they may be trying to pass across.

 

 

While it is not the easiest thing to do, it’s not hard either. 

Here are a few of the importances of listening.

 

 

A sign of respect

 

Yes, listening to someone is a sign that you respect them and their opinions/contributions. Cutting in always or just being absentminded does not help any interaction and can come off as insulting.

 

Another side to this involves accepting that you are not listening to reply or respond but rather to understand which is important for healthy conversations.

 

When you’re actually listening to someone, they’ll know.

 

 

 

 

People don’t always need an answer

 

This is not the ‘silence is the best answer’ line.

 

Sometimes, people talk to you because they need to vent or just get things out of their heads and not really because they want an answer. Just listening to someone can aid in relieving them of stress. You don’t need to have words for every situation, giving an ear instead can be more helpful.

 

 

 

Fosters understanding

 

If you’ve had an exam experience of explaining where you were asked to list and got marks deducted as a result, then you’d know firsthand the power of not paying attention.

 

When all you want to do is reply, you’ll be focused on the end of their ‘talk time’ so you can continue, or on picking them up over parts of what they say. Either way, you’ll end up missing what the person is actually trying to share.

 

 

 

Listening aids critical thinking. It makes understanding the speaker’s point of view important and again, understanding is key to healthy relationships.

 

Communication as a whole is useless if what is said is not understood.

 

 

 

It is actually a skill

 

Indeed it is, and one you can add to your skill set.

Therapists, Customer care services and a lot of others, rely heavily on understanding what their clients need from them and providing services accordingly. 

 

 

 

Aside formal settings, every healthy conversation depends on listening well as much or sometimes more than it depends on talking. Good listeners are not going to be unneeded anytime soon.

Here's the post on conversations  and how to make better ones.

 

 

Are you a poor listener or you know someone who is? How important do you think it actually is?  

 

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