Hi Everyone!

I hope you are thinking more about how much you really listen to your friends and family!

Here's a page on Active Listening with a great 3 minute video.


Please watch the video and then read over the text below the video to understand further. Number 4 of the key points is to defer (or postpone or delay) making judgements about the speaker. Judgements often lead to you interrupt your friend (the speaker), but...

"Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.

• Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions.
• Don't interrupt with counter arguments."

A counter argument (or "rebuttal") puts you in a position of conflict with your friend. If this happens, you're not being a good friend -- even if you are convinced that you are right!!


Here's a chart on Active Listening.

Note that a good active listener is always rephrasing or paraphrasing the speaker (repeating in their own words) to demonstrate understanding. An active listener will also ask questions to clarify, or make sure he or she understands what the speaker really means.