I think one of the most interesting things we’ve learned so far has been about listening. I remember receiving a small lesson about listening in Communications 101 and finding it to be about much more than I thought. I knew that listening involved more than just hearing which is purely biological. Listening also takes a lot more concentration than I originally believed. Learning that we only retain 20% of what we listen to was somewhat shocking I think I did hear that statistic in Communications 101 but it’s still surprising to learn it again. Reading about the different types of listening styles in the textbook was also fascinating, from active, to compassionate critical, to dialogic listening and more. I think it’s important to learn about listening because there are so many small things that make it up. From nonverbal gestures, to pitch and tone of voice, to repeating, asking questions, and more. I think everyone can think of a moment where they were telling a story or talking about something and realized the other person or people weren’t really listening. That moment usually hurts because it makes you feel like what you were saying wasn’t important enough. This has happened to me before and when I asked if they heard what I said the response I would get is what. So in some cases, I would repeat my whole story or statement, or I would simply say nevermind. After having that done to me I try really hard to listen and focus on what people say to me, even if I personally don’t find it interesting at the start often times I learn something new about the person. And I always find it really nice when someone repeats something I’ve said to them about my interests, so I try and remember what others tell me and continue to be a good active listener.
I also found another website that holds the same beliefs that I have about listening. According to Registered Nurse, Patricia Mulvania of the Gift of Life Institute Advancing Organ and Tissue Donation “Listening has been shown to be essential to communicating respect for another person”. I think this statement is very true if you choose to ignore or not listen to someone I think that’s pretty disrespectful and very evident that you don’t want to know about the person or talk to them. I also like that the article says “When we want to build a strong relationship with another person, our ability and commitment to listening attentively and empathically is essential” (Mulvania). I think this is very true the more committed we are to building a relationship with someone the more we try to actively listen and show empathy in our conservations. Overall, I truly believe listening is a skill everyone should have and everyone needs to learn about. There is always something a person can improve on, and listening is a skill that has to be learned and practiced, it’s not something we’re born with.
Mulvania, Patricia. “The Importance of Active Listening.” Gift of Life Institute - Advancing
importance-of-active-listening/. 
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