Thanks again to Simple Mom for a great post on The Art of Listening in Relationships (click this blog title for the full article).
Following is a summary of the article and the parts that spoke to me …
- The quality of our lives depends largely on the quality of our relationships.
- To a large extent, the quality of our relationships depend on the quality of our communication.
The real issue is — how do you handle the messages sent between you? Especially the ones involving messages you don’t like, or ones with which you disagree.
It’s through speaking and listening that you can dramatically improve the quality of your relationships, and your life.
See the payoffs in listening well
Remember – communication at best is difficult
Listen to yourself listen
- Use silence and postpone your response
Remember that understanding is not agreeing