Active listening: An Ethical Demand

Conversation is a skill and very important part of every culture or socialization. Conversation is an interactive communication, and requires some etiquettes to conquer this skill, as it provides you a social support and helps you to put things in perspectives. Whether you are sharing for the purpose of giving advice, sharing information or to just vent out. It also makes you more resilient and improves your coping for the uncertainty.

From my learning, I have understood that people took conversation just to talk it out their experiences, opinions and ideas without realizing the fact that it is a two-way process. When talking about conversational protocols, first and foremost is not only active talking but active listening. We misunderstand the skill of conversation; we cut people off and focus on what we want to say without even listening and having a firm belief that we know what they are going to say.

We should treat conversation as an opportunity of learning something out of it, and be an active or better listener rather than just spilling your beans around. To be an active and mindful listener, it is our ethical responsibility which is overlooked in our societies. It develops empathy and patience to avoid and resolve conflicts between individuals, and as a result of it peace and happiness can be ensured.

According to Anneli Blundell, an author, speaker, and communication expert, there are a few reasons which make the individual engage in behavior of cutting people off. The topmost reason is that it becomes a learned behavior: as a child, we acquire this behavior from our environment. It's a narcissistic thing: when the conversation no longer revolves around you, you just step in and try to turn it around yourselves. It can also be a reason for internal insecurity; to avoid judgments or trauma, vulnerability and inferiority complexes, we unconsciously cut people off as a defensive mechanism. Sometimes, we get excited and enthusiastic during conversation regarding certain points. One of the significant reasons; it's a power play i.e., when you feel you are losing the conversation, you pool in. Long story short, it happens when you are totally unaware and you don’t consider the emotions of others. The only cure to this disease is to self-reflect and to take feedback of your loved ones. All the best!