Last update: January 27, 2015
I remember when I was little and at school the teacher would read us a book about a little girl who had the gift of knowing how to listen. Now I do not want to write about this virtue of her to make you believe that I have it, on the contrary, I am talking about it precisely because I do not have this quality. However, it is said that recognizing that you have to change is the first step to success.
Putting into practice "listening to people"
Today I practiced "listening to people", that is, I left my mobile phone in my bag, I forgot the environment I was in, I stopped interrupting the person in front of me to talk to her about my experience similar to that she was telling me, I looked into her eyes, I concentrated on her ways, I looked at her expression while she was talking, I noticed how her breathing changed according to the feeling she wanted to convey and I realized that listening is much more than hearing words spoken in the air.
I can say that practicing this activity made me feel very good. I felt smarter because, if I could not understand everything the person wanted to say to me, what perhaps he could not tell me with his words because the right word did not come to mind, I was able to understand it through his gaze and his gestures. I was able to feel empathy not for a similar experience that I had experienced before, but for putting myself in her shoes by listening to her and understanding what she was feeling.
I understand that when a person needs to be heard, it doesn't necessarily mean they want to know if the same thing happened to us or if we felt the same, but they want us to understand how they felt. Listening goes beyond our ears, reaches the brain, reaches the soul.
Talk less and listen more
Now I understand why it is said that we have two ears and one mouth to speak less and listen more, and I can tell you that all my life I have done the opposite.
On the other hand, I cannot judge for others, but I assure you that the person I spoke with felt that they were understood, that I was paying attention to them, that I was listening to them. I believe that I will continue to practice this "listening to people" because there are many more benefits than disadvantages.
And do you know how to listen?
