Are you a Good Listener?

Are you a good listener? We all would like to think that we are good listeners, but can we honestly say that we are.
Can you remember in a work situation, you are busy doing something rather complicated, and a fellow employee comes up to you asking for your advice on something, because you are not really listening to what they are asking you will not give them the correct information.
We need to be able to switch off completely from what we are doing before we are really able to listen to what the next person is saying.
Most of the time our minds are busy with all the other things and we are not fully receptive. We hear what the other person says, but it is not actually sinking in.
Only when we learn to really listen carefully can we understand the other persons’ viewpoint and where they are coming from. Are you a good listener?
Communication problems often start with both parties not listening correctly to one another. This does not only happen in the work situation, it happens at home too.
Can you remember your child saying something to you whilst you were cooking? You were only half listening, don’t do this. Rather say to them that you are busy right at the moment, and they must please talk to you in five minutes time when you can give them your full attention.
Selective listening is switching off and only listening to what you want to hear. This is when misunderstandings come about.
Could this be something that you are guilty of? Do you sometimes think that you should have been more alert when they were opening up to you then maybe it would never have happened?
I know that I have thought that quite often in my lifetime. Learn to listen to your children when they are talking to you, make time for them even when you are busy.
Kathy Atkinson
Image from Pixabay