Hello Dear Friend,
I hope you are well, and enjoying life. To my readers in America, I am sending you lots of hugs and positive thoughts, and to those in the UK and Ireland, I hope you are safe after storm Éowyn. It passed us by with just 50-60 mph winds, the normal for this time of year, but I know it left many people without electricity. I hope you are safe and warm.
This week’s missive is short and sweet, it is all about listening.
Listening
This image popped into my social media feed earlier this week, reminding me that I am often guilty of this. I have a tendency to interrupt, I will try harder to not do this going forward…
Hearing vs Listening
Can you explain the difference? It took me a while to think about it.
The Developing Listening Skills page from the Samaritans sums it up nicely:
… hearing is passive (we can hear background noise and music in shops without really paying attention to it) but listening is active – it requires effort to really focus and concentrate on what someone is saying.
The BHF page gives excellent advice about how to listen - some of which are:
Don’t think of your reply while you are listening - if you are doing that you’re not listening…
‘Listen’ to the person’s body language too - arms crossed for example can be a sign of them trying to protect and shield themselves.
Listen without judging or jumping to conclusions.
So my question to you is what type of listener are you?
Do you listen closely?
Or is the endless to-do list running around your head at the same time?
Next time you are in a conversation with someone, and it doesn’t have to be a deep and meaningful one, practice listening with your full attention. See if it makes a difference to how the conversation flows and what topics are discussed. I will try to remember to do the same, as I said I am prone to interrupt folks - Jo will back me up on this - it drives her nuts.
Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.
Love and Light,
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Until next time, bye for now.
Links:
BHF.org.uk - 10 Tips for Active Listening web article
VeryWellMind.com - Active Listening: 7 Active Listening Techniques for Better Communication
Samaritans - Developing Listening Skills, Exercise and Learning Resources
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Food for thought, Tracy! I am going to try harder this weekend! x