Do you find it difficult to perform Conscious Listening?
Do you find it difficult to remain silent? Are you a person who finishes the other person's sentences? Do you get impatient when someone speaks to you slowly?
Today's practice is to practice Mindful Listening using Silence. When you are listening, concentrate on not speaking, experience "the discomfort" of not saying anything. You will be practicing Mindful Listening.
Listening without interrupting is showing respect for our interlocutor, trusting that their words will bring you value, showing humility towards the person who has the voice and is dedicating their invaluable time to you.
Our silence offers our interlocutor 3 benefits:
1-🧘♂️Reduce pressure by being able to communicate at your own pace, without fear of interruptions. By listening to you, we are reducing your stress level, We are showing acceptance, effort to understand your ideas, you feel safe, your self-confidence increases.
2-🧠Reflect and think carefully about what you want to express. We show generosity by offering our time, by focusing our attention on your words, by wanting to know more, by encouraging you to go deeper.
3-💬 Connect with your internal dialogue, confirming that you have expressed your thoughts correctly. Each person's neural circuits are unique, they work "ad hoc" to link our ideas and transform them into words.
It is very difficult for us to remain silent because we “feel” more useful when we speak and offer our advice. But what is the point of listening? Giving the other person space to share their ideas, allowing them to express themselves, enhancing their moment.
When we are listening, we humbly remain in the background.
Filling in the information, interrupting, expressing our opinion before allowing him to finish… these are all signs of our ego. Who am I to “hijack” your conversation?
Silence is an example of appreciative respect.
And what are the benefits for the listener?
The most important, 🎓Learning: When we speak, we do not increase our knowledge, since we share what we already know.
When we listen, we have the opportunity to grow in wisdom, incorporating information from our interlocutor into our previous knowledge.
5 extraordinary benefits that will motivate you to stay silent and enhance your Conscious Listening
- Strengthen relationships 🤝
Actively listening to someone creates a stronger bond and fosters mutual trust. It allows your interlocutor to gain self-esteem and feel important. - Improve understanding 🧠
By listening well, you better understand the other person's perspectives and feelings. Conscious Listening involves Complete Listening, that is, obtaining in-depth information, details that illustrate and favor a better understanding of the content. - Reduce misunderstandings ❌🤷♀️
By paying attention, you minimize confusion and misinterpretation. It is also important to ask a few brief questions to help you follow the thread of the conversation if you are lost. The interlocutor always appreciates a clarifying question, since it means that you want to understand what has been said. - Promote empathy ❤️
Listening attentively allows us to put ourselves in the other person's shoes and develop compassion. Empathy with emotional distance, that is, we do not necessarily agree with everything that is said. We do accept their opinion and respect it. Therefore, we listen to them with Empathy. - Facilitates conflict resolution 🛠️🗣️
Listening creates space to resolve disagreements more effectively and peacefully. Knowing exactly what other people think about a specific topic and their specific arguments helps us to reflect and rethink our own arguments. Let's be brave and listen more. Let's be brave and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
As a reflection 😊
For the next 3 days, I invite you to be aware of your level of Listening:
Is it Conscious Listening?
Is this a fake listening?
Is it an autobiographical listening?
Is it selective listening?
Is it empathic listening?
#ListenConsciously #Silence #EnjoyListening
