01 Oct You shall be heard
One of the biggest problems today, as Lynne Parker from Funny Women so eloquently says, is that we rarely listen to each other – we are too busy thinking of what to say next. ‘Not listening’ is an issue that we have all undoubtable experienced first-hand. Think of a time when you may as well have been speaking to a brick wall, judging by the unreactive faces you were speaking to.
Why does it bother us so much?
I used to think that it was a sign of disrespect, a statement of unconcern. But a few years ago I changed my mind.
I realised that when someone doesn’t listen to me, it irritates me just as much today as it did when I was a small child who was told to go to bed because I was tired. But I wasn’t tired, in fact I had just said that I. Was. Not. Tired.
You do not need to be a psychologist to understand the basic human need to be accepted. Communicating is a way to connect with other people. Whether we are children or adults, we need our opinions to be acknowledged, otherwise we feel misunderstood and angry.
If you want to build better relationships at work or in your personal life follow 2 simple steps:
- Engage in active listening
- Acknowledge their thoughts, even if we don’t agree with them (please note: there is a difference between acknowledging and agreeing with their opinion.
Thank you for reading/watching. (Vlog version is below)
Please get in touch if you would like any coaching or training on this topic
Janet
speakingrights.com