Shhh, listen!

My Prinsessies have this bad habit of screaming into my ear. It's as though they think that the louder they shout, the better I'll hear. It doesn't matter how many times and ways I try to convince them that I will listen better if they lower their voice; they are not paying attention. It does not matter whether I lower my voice, raise it, turn away or look them straight in the eye.

The magic lasts only for a minute or two, then the bellowing begins again.

Adults do this too. We often think that we will get our point across by hammering it home. But often we can get our point across by listening better. Others will listen to us not by how loud we speak, but by how loud we listen. And if we can find our point somewhere in what they said, we can quietly drive our point home just by agreeing with them.

Are you listening?

Listen! I mean really listen. What is the other person saying? What do they mean? What are they feeling?

Most of us have our heads in our own little worlds, a perfectly natural place to keep them, and we don’t pay attention to what others are saying. We hear, but we don’t really listen. Often our minds are busy thinking about how we will respond to them…and while we are formulating that response, we fail to truly listen.

Open your mind when you open your ears, and become a great listener.

Picture : Conversation on a Park Bench Painting by Jack Riddle