Listen Out Loud

It can be quite a challenge when you are a party to a conversation, or so you thought, but you find yourself doing all the listening and cannot get a word in edgewise. This challenge seems to be an age old one and I figure several individuals may be able to identify with this. The question is, if so many can testify to this, then who is really listening? Is anyone listening? I've noticed that many are waiting to give their two cents and some never get a chance to do so when the conversation eventually has to end.

I am guilty...! If I am patiently and actively listening and the other person is going 90 miles per hour with their mouth and not stopping at traffic lights or stop signs, I sometimes politely ask if I may respond. There are other times I leave the person on their selfish rant rudeness and I start thinking of how obnoxious they sound rather than listening to the essence of what they are saying. I know this is probably terrible of me. But the question I have is, why in the sugar is listening so difficult. Now, don't get me wrong, if someone ask me to listen to something, I have no problems listening as I am pretty decent at that. However, if there is a regular conversation and if an individual is known for never giving another individual the chance to communicate with them, then I cringe to converse with them.

For me, I get tripped up when I am in a conversation and someone completes their thought and I start to respond when they come right back in. It makes me feel like I am butting in on their sentence when that's not my intent. It's almost like at times I feel the person should say I'm finished. Let's be real; if I am in a conversation and each time one of us has to say I am finished, I'd rather not be in the conversation. It will be too boring.

Now that I have identified the challenge, what is the resolution? In my mind, the resolution is not one size fits all. Rather, it is dependent on what causes a party to intentionally or unintentionally listen. One of the resolutions I'd say comes when more of us are conscientious that if we are in a conversation with someone else (and not ourselves), we should be mindful that they may want to actually participate. Also important to know is the fact that it is acceptable or even healthy to pause or have silence during a conversation. Not all silence has to be filled for the conversation to be effective.

We should realize that listening is truly a much needed skill that we each should attempt to improve on a daily basis. I really can go on and on with the benefits of listening, but because I know most people reading this already know the great benefits, I will sum it up as this; if more of us listened, the world would be a better place. Listen out loud!