Successful Relationships Reading Corner

In this week’s blog article we wrote about how you can’t talk and listen at the same time. Other writers offer their suggestions for active listening.

Practicing Active Listening Can Improve Your Relationship “Often partners are convinced that they are excellent listeners. However, when asked, many partners are unable to give an adequate summary of what their partner was saying. Partners aren’t always conscious of their tendency to plan what they are going to say next.”

Attention Couples: Becoming a Skilled Listener and Effective Speaker “listening isn’t an innate ability all people possess; it’s a skill we need to cultivate. And it’s a critical one for couples, because the foundation of successful communication is being able to truly listen to each other, without ‘constructing a counter argument in your head'”

Listening–With Your Heart as Well as Your Ears “How often have you heard these statements? ‘You’re not listening to me!’… ‘Why don’t you let me finish what I’m saying?’… ‘If you only let me, I’ll tell you!’… ‘I may as well be talking to a brick wall!… ‘You just don’t understand!’… ‘But that’s not what I said!’ If you hear any of these comments coming from your partner, children, friends, or co-workers, perhaps it’s true that ‘you’re not listening’–really listening to the people who are important in your life.”

Tell your friends!