I am told that anyone who loves to read or write loves to talk as well. With this in mind, you must have guessed by now; I am a talkative person. For far too long I was always the one with the most to say when having conversations with others, but the more I read and learnt about communication, the more I realised the importance of listening. I realised that the less I talked and the more I listened, the more I understood the intentions of others. I am now of the view that it pays more to listen than to speak.
Why do you think we have two ears and one mouth? It is so we listen as twice as much as we speak! When we pay attention and really listen to the other people, we show them that we respect them, that we value their views and opinions (even though we may not agree with them), and above all else, we dignify them.
I do know that how I treat others defines how they treat me as well – that is what the golden rule says: “Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you”.
The truth is, people don’t really care how much you know, but want to know how much you care. If you have a wife or a fiancé, you will realise how true this is. Sometimes the ladies in our lives just want us to listen to them; they are not necessarily asking for our opinion, but just our ears. How we listen to them helps them verify if they are still important to us.
I cannot end this piece without saying that there is a difference between hearing and listening. Note that what I have been talking about all this while is listening, not just hearing the words being spoken. You need to feel the words and respond accordingly even if it is just by nodding your head.
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