We multitask and we wear that badge proudly. But what about listening? Like the long-gone days of fine calligraphy, will the art of listening become a rare hobby with reducing attention spans? We all want to be listened to, just that our patience wears thin when we need to be the listeners. Great listeners are a treasure. We can all learn to be better at this important life skill. a. Give undivided #attention : Authentic listening is an act of concentrated focus. Put away the smartphone or the laptop & give the other person your complete attention, at least for the allocated time. b. Be a trampoline: Good listening is about absorbing with #intent what the other person is saying, but it doesn’t stop at that. It involves providing the speaker with a new #perspective — a good listener is like a trampoline, always directing the energy of the #conversation forward. c. Listen to listen & not respond: Sometimes, listening just becomes a reactive activity. We think of our response even while the person is talking! But listening becomes an inherently more #compassionate action if we pause & choose to respond, putting ourselves in that person’s place instead of reacting. This kind of listening #validates people & #connects us to them. …see more