Active Listening

Active listening is the idea of being fully present while listening to another person, really taking in what they have to say.  Many people will begin spinning their web of rebuttals ready to jump in and take control of the conversation at first breath.

Most of the time we hear what the other person is saying but we are not really listening.  To actively listen means to give your full attention to what the speaker is saying so you fully understand what the intent of the communication is.

When listening to a speaker, if you are formulating what your response is going to be, you are not practicing active listening.

With active listening, you can begin to take your understanding of others to a much deeper level.  We all think in pictures, and the words we choose are our best representation of that picture in our mind.  Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then it is not to far of a stretch to imagine that whenever a person is speaking they cannot express all those words because it would take a very long time! 

Begin to pay attention to how a person is thinking by actively listening to their words and begin to understand the underlying picture in their mind.

Rather than asking yourself, "What am I going to say?", ask yourself, "What are they saying?"

BE Amazing,

-Lane