One Apple A Day #248
How often do you listen? I mean to listen to someone actively; to listen with the purpose to know more about the other person.
In my journey to become a coach, I realised how meagre I was as a listener. Most of the time I was listening to the other person only to find a way to throw in my thoughts. Too often I entered conversations to push my agenda, to share my ideas or just to be right. But not to listen.
Unfortunately, being aware of this is not enough to change. When we are engaged in a conversation, our emotions lead our behaviours, so it’s easy to fall into our usual patterns. Thought, awareness is the first step. In the beginning, I was able to notice that I wasn’t listening only after the conversation ended. Then I began to get some moments of awareness during the conversations, and I forced myself to pause before talking. Because this is the key things. The secret is to do nothing.
Don’t talk. Don’t move. Don’t look away. Just listen. With all the senses.
I’m not good as I wanted to be, yet.
But I understood that listening it’s a skill that can be trained.
I feel I’m getting better, but the best way to prove is to enter conversations.
So if you want to help get better, just get in touch, and I’d be happy to listen to you.