“Brevity is the soul of wit.”
This is something I fondly remember my sixth grade teacher saying (quite often) to our class. For years after, I’d thought she coined the phrase.
(Sorry, Shakespeare.)
I’ve never really been short on words.
In fact, to this day, I jest about my horrific word to idea ratio.
While I’m working on this, I find even with practice,. I get mixed results. (I’m gong to try my best to make this piece of writing the “case in point” to this idea.)
The longer I’m on this planet, the harder I try to be a good listener.
I stay curious and make sure to ask more questions.
I leave space known in the education world as “wait time”.
And I continue to practice. Yes, I practice, listening.
It’s easier to do, I find, one-on-one.
And while I read about and hear about people who say:
“So I think what I hear you saying is…”
“Did I get that right?”
I find this to be an easy strategy to skip. This is especially true when I’m in a rush for answers, or to move onto the next thing on my list.
But that’s selfish. And I make sure to remind myself of that.
Listening is generous. And it’s about others, not me.
Maybe instead of William Shakespeare, I need to move in another direction. Maybe I need to think about listening, in a different way.
“Art is in what you leave out.” — Kevin Kelly
Perhaps I’ll start thinking about listening as an art form. And maybe, just maybe, if I leave more of my words out of the conversation, the space that remains will seem more like art.
If nothing else, by creating more space to listen, I will validate the person with whom I’m speaking even more. This could lead to strengthening our relationship. Plus, I’d learn something new, something about myself and about what I bring to the discussion.
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