Do you listen, but never hear? Do you switch off when somebody else is talking? Or are you just waiting for the other person to stop talking, so you can speak again? Therapist Conal Healy realised he we was guilty of all of these things. It took years for him to be able to listen so he could understand what was being told to him.
IT took me five decades to learn to shut up and listen.
It is important to be able to listen.
Important to hear what is being said.
How it is being said.
Why it is being said.
It is also important to listen to what is not being said.
So, I listen.
Listen to make the person – who is talking – feel that they are being heard.
Research suggests that we only remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers, or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation.
The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh said: “Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart. You just listen with compassion and help him to suffer less. One hour like that can bring transformation and healing.”
This is why I listen. This is why I hear.
