28-Day Practice
Finding Harmony with our Daily Lives
Day 4: Active Listening
Practice
Today's practice is "Active Listening" to a person who is sharing something for about 5 to 10 minutes. It could be in a meeting, during a phone call, or as a co-worker. Our job is to listen without interjecting, commenting, or sharing our personal perspective and still stay attentive, even if what we are listening to isn't interesting to us. Try it with different people and see if you notice a difference.
Why practice active listening? You might not realize that often in a conversation, we listen, but we don't truly hear. We usually listen to respond. Let's say someone just spent their summer break at Disney, and you were there a few years ago. We tend to share our experiences with others. And we're taking away from the person sharing about their latest trip. We don't allow them to express themselves fully and give us the full rundown.
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This practice requires practice, especially when we are asked to do something so unnatural, and it becomes even more challenging when the person sharing is discussing a conflict. We believe we have to solve their issues. Hence, for this more challenging task, we are holding a call for this particular practice on September 11th. See you there.
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Resources
Center for Creative Leadership
The Decode Project (YouTube video)​
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Follow along on Instagram Stories (click here) for additional daily instructions, along with the email.
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