Practice Active Listening

Neurotic president of the company, “Gary, nobody listens to me.” Smarta** VP, “Huh?” President, “Nobody listens to me.” VP, “Huh?” President, “Nobody listens to me.” VP, “Huh?” President, “Ohhhhh.”

Active listening is a skill. It is essential for leaders. It is essential for parents. It is essential for spiritual seekers.

Believe it or not, the idea (duh!) for Googling “active listening” came from the instructor of a class I was taking on improving my skills as a soccer referee assessor and mentor. The results were staggering. Today, I bring you tips. “Improve your active listening techniques,” with James Manktelow & Amy Carlson.

Tip:

Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others.

Tip:

If you’re finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say them – this will reinforce their message and help you stay focused.

Becoming an Active Listener

1. Pay Attention

2. Show That You’re Listening

3. Provide Feedback

4. Defer Judgment

5. Respond AppropriatelyBe candid, open, and honest in your response.

Spiritual Response The same works spiritually. Sometimes when I’m reading my Daily Office or from Scripture, my mind wanders. Sometimes (often?) in my meditation and prayer, my mind wanders. Sometimes God speaks and I wasn’t practicing active listening. What opportunities for learning and service have I missed by being too absorbed in me and not enough in active listening to the spirit?

Tags: attention, listening, meditation, Prayer, Study

This entry was posted on April 9, 2015 at 6:14 am and is filed under Listening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Faith Venture