Listen to me please...

I have defiantly had those conversations when I really needed someone to listen and give me feedback and that is not what I got from them. Most of the time they have been situations when people are just distracted by something else, not intending to be disrespectful or rude. Something I have been learning is to just ask if they heard me or let them know that I really need them to listen. Instead of getting upset the first time I've learned to be patient because I know there are times I am distracted and need things repeated.

I have been blessed with so many great listeners in my life. I can tell they are attentive because they are giving me eye contact and not verbal affirmation that they heard what I had just said. I love to hear what people think about the situation and many times my friends or family will help me to put things in perspective by speaking truth over me. I think some ways to avoid the problem of poor listening is to be intentional about tough conversation. I don't think talking in the middle of a big group about something really important is the best choice, sometimes it's inevitable but even if you can ask the person to step away from the noise and distraction it may make things so much better. I also think talking late at night is a really poor choice. My boyfriend, Ryan attends UW-Stevens Point and over these past three years of college we have learned that talking after midnight just isn't the best idea. You are tired and sometimes conversation can get dragged out because the other isn't responding the way you hoped. By just tweaking this simple thing our communication has been so much more effective and positive.

Right now I am in a class called Listening Skills and we are learning a lot about, well...listening...and how it goes overlooked because it is something we have been doing since we were in the womb. However, this doesn't mean we've learned to do it well. Albert Einstein once said "He definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". If we don't relearn how we listen in a more effective way we will be so much less impactful in working situations and in our everyday relationship.