I have been known to get a serious debate going every now and then… Be it at a dinner party, during my working day or at home… It does amaze me how many people seem reluctant to do something as basic as be engaged in a good conversation. Take a moment right now to describe the significance of communication in your life. What is its value to you?
Making a rather sweeping statement today, I’d say that tich dialogue is the heartbeat of modern psychology and healthy living. At times, we can unveil truths and solve problems together that we could never manage alone. We get to be expressive too.
In the hypnotherapist circles and social circles I encounter, I often find that the ability to engage one another has been sacrificed in many lives to the hustle of busy lives; mistakenly in my opinion, many have substituted a text message or twittered statement for meaningful interaction. If I am honest, I do not invest a great deal of my time with any group whose members are not capable of genuine communication, who do not express a yearning to speak and to be heard!
A sincere exchange of ideas requires skillful listening. What does listening entail? It requires complete concentration. A manner that tells you “I am absorbing what you say.” Importantly adding a sense of “I am not hearing a few words and forming my response as you speak. I am listening.” Then, when you have finished speaking, I consider my response. When I respond to you, respectfully, our words link our lives. It is such a basic thing to do, isn’t it?
Surely we must overturn our distractions in pursuit of communication. The rewards are immeasurable. Who can forget the experience of really being heard, of having someone take in your words and their meaning and hold them as their own? What if that was not a rare thing, but is actually a part of a much more enjoyable day-to-day existence?
Time to resurrect the art of conversation: at dinner tables, in the workplace, as a nation and a world… Though that sounds rather dramatic, doesn’t it? Conversation is not a one-sided lecture, not about being right, not about getting in the last word. It is a mutual exchange. It satisfies our desire to belong; it gives us a chance to tell our story.
Have a marvellous wekeend and have some richly rewarding conversation… I’ll be back on Monday 🙂
