From my last article:
https://steemit.com/communication/@allandharvey/not-what-you-think-it-is
ARE YOU A GOOD LISTENER?
Have you ever got lost in a conversation because you stopped listening? You know what I mean - someone is chatting to you, you mentally exit the conversation only to come back a few seconds later to find you can't answer a question they may have asked you or you have lost track of the what they were saying altogether?
RELAX - it is normal, not right, but normal.
Research has found that the average adult listens at no better than 25% efficiency.
Why is that?
Because HEARING and LISTENING are two different things.
HEARING is involuntary, it is ongoing; it is a physiological process.
As long as we have those holes on the side of our heads sound will enter whether we like it or not.
LISTENING is a psychological voluntary process. Listening is a discipline.
You have to learn to tune out ambient noise and TUNE INTO the 'movie' the other person/s is running.
God blessed us with two ears and one mouth - we should therefore listen twice as much as we speak. Listening requires silence of mind more than silence of environment although the latter does help.
Ironically the words 'listen' and 'silent' are spelt with exactly the same letters. Listening requires silence of mind, in other words my movie is 'silent' in order for me to engage effectively.
Listening is to the human soul what oxygen is to the human body, your life may depend on it.