I stutter, so I struggle with people always interrupting me. At at early age, I promised myself to always be an active listener so I won’t interrupt others. Although, this week has taught me that being an active listener doesn’t always require verbal conversations - it could be in the form of internet discussions. To be an active listener means to be receptive and engaging for the solution.
When you’ve done something wrong, listen to the comments, reflect, and work on fixing the problem. Here are some tips to listen:
- Notice When You’re Interrupting: It’s okay to make a mistake when you think the speaker is finished, but it’s not okay to ignore your mistake. If you start speaking before someone else finishes, apologize and ask them to continue.
- Wait to Formulate Your Ideas: It’s normal to be excited to get an opinion in, but this excitement often prompts one to ignore the speaker. Listen to what is being said - then form a response based their words.
- Reflect on What They Said: When the speaker has finished, take some time to think their words over. Your response doesn’t have a deadline. This would encourage you to be a better listener.
- Don’t Make Assumptions: Interrupting someone means to assume what the speaker is about to say. Don’t do this. Even if you think you know what is being said, be patient - because you may even learn something in spite of what you assume.
- Don’t Jump to Conclusions: This is similar to the last point, but some may jump to conclusions to end conversations. Why do this? To speak with someone is to learn/teach. Every discussion is a journey of growth, so don’t rush it - grow with it.
- Be Receptive to Learn: Finally - to end this incredibly long post - we engage in conversations to learn. And the only way to learn is to listen. If you’re content to learn, you wouldn’t feel compelled to interrupt.
