The Art of Listening, “Can You Hear Me?”
Written by Anne Walter
When you were younger, do you remember the saying, “God gave you one (1) mouth for speaking and two (2) ears for listening and that means you should listen twice as often as you speak?” Usually, a response parents would share with a child. I smile when I think back on the times that my parents used to say this to all of us kids.
As an adult though, the truthfulness of that statement is much more resounding in its application to how we communicate with others. Its importance is often overlooked and sometimes that message is discarded amongst the minutia of things we tend to prioritize at that moment. Are some of the basic rules, the timeless artifacts of communication, getting lost? Do we really “listen” to people? ...truly “hear” what they are saying? ...or is “our” agenda of what we need to say overriding our ability to actively engage the other person?
Effective communication skills mean having the awareness to actively hear others by acknowledging what they are saying to us. Maybe it’s something that isn’t a priority at that moment or even something we might not want to hear… and that can make it too easy to disengage our listening skills. Active listening recognizes this and allows for positive interaction between all parties, which leads to constructive communication.
Social interactions with others should be productive, not just words on paper but true avenues of collaboration. Listening twice as much as we talk is an essential component of that mindset. We tend to remember those individuals who truly hear us…and so I ask myself, how can I be a better listener?
