What Did You Say? 5 Ways to be a Better Listener

Listening can be difficult. Our world is noisy. So are our minds. Even in our own homes, the constant noise of kids screaming, televisions blaring, podcasts streaming, phones buzzing, and our endless lists of things that need to get done that are running through incessantly in our minds creates constant noise. We try to escape the noise through headphones, but this just leads to nobody communicating with anybody.I have noticed that we either never learned how, or are forgetting one of the most important and basic parts of successful relationships: actively listening and genuinely caring about what our loved one is telling us. We tend to do this well when we are first meeting people or are trying to make a good impression. But sadly, we forget its value when we come home.Whether it’s just a distraction, our list of things to do, or simply overlooking the ones closest to us, we can all do a better job of listening. It’s a powerful way to show how much we care. It’s a way to honor the other person as important and valuable.Julian Treasure’s Ted Talk “5 Ways to Listen Better,” is a short, succinct presentation on ways to improve our listening. Treasure describes listening as a skill (that should be taught in schools). He gives five exercises to practice and improve your ability as a listener:1. Three minutes a day of silence (or at least quiet).2. “The Mixer”—how many different streams of sound can you identify?3. Savoring—enjoy mundane sounds (“the hidden choir”).4. Identify different “listening positions” for different situations.5. RASA: Receive, Appreciate, Summarize, AskI would add practicing “focused attention” to the list. Practice listening to something. Pay attention to how long you can focus. Notice when you get distracted from what you were originally listening to and then go back to focusing on it again.Here is the link to the Treasure’s talk, if you have seven and a half minutes to spare.http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_betterMy favorite quotes from this Ted Talk are:• “Try to listen to [your spouse] every day as if it were for the first time.”• “Conscious listening creates understanding.”• “Listen consciously to live fully.”I hope the noise doesn’t get in the way of our most meaningful relationships!