2). After
reading Chapter 4 in its entirety, answer the following question: What
are you thinking about when others talk? Do you concentrate on what they
are saying or do you think about your own ideas instead? After listening
to someone, an you write down most of what that person told you? If not,
why?
If I’m being honest, I would say that sometimes, I am not a
good listener. While most of the time, I have the patience to be present and
not interrupt while someone else is talking, I am often distracted by other
things around me. A lot of conversations that I have with others are over the
phone because my family and many of my close friends don’t live near me. I
always have so many things that I need to get done and I often try to find ways
to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time. I am often doing chores around
my house while talking to others and so I find myself sometimes, not paying full
attention to what is being said. When others talk, I try to listen to what they
are saying. If they are having a problem, I try to understand what they are
saying so that I can offer a helpful opinion or piece of advice. I also think
about what kinds of ‘follow-up’ questions I can ask the person after they are
finished talking. I think that after listening to someone, I can usually write
down most of what they said. I really do try to pay attention when other people
talk, but I have to make efforts not to multitask while I am doing so.
Being a good listener isn't always a feasible option in my opinion. Things going on around you and in your own head make it difficult for us to pay 100% full attention every time we talk to someone. However, I do believe some people are more adept at being active listeners than others. I put myself in the middle. I am a pretty good listener, but like you, my mind wanders and I often multitask while talking to someone. Work is a perfect example.
ReplyDeleteI work at In-N-Out Burger, so oftentimes I'll be cooking burgers while talking to my coworkers about what we're planning to do on the weekend, etc. We all know that we can't put our full attention on the subjects being discussed because we're working so we make do with non-attentive listening and talking.
I don't write down what people say after talking to them, but I think I'd be able to write down the gist of the conversation. I am actually more of a texter rather than someone who talks on the phone a lot. Good post Chatter Box.