Listening is about
putting others first. I truly believe that being heard is a basic need that we
all share. When we do not feel like we are heard, we get frustrated. We do not
want to listen to anyone else, because no one is listening to us. We believe
that what we have to say is so important, that even when others are speaking, we
aren’t really listening but instead are simply waiting our turn to talk. This kind of “fake” listening is not
effective for a number of reasons. It damages relationships instead of building
them, and no one really gets heard. There is no “win-win”.
I’m reminded of a
time when my grandparents were arguing. Each was desperately trying to say
something that they thought was important, and they kept getting louder and
louder, trying to out-shout the other.
What they didn’t realize is that they weren’t really arguing, because
they were talking about two completely
