Listening is an Art, as Much as Speaking

Generally speaking, we do classify people as good orators only when they are capable of communicating their messages to the audience in a simple and fascinating manner. Perhaps there is one more trait that’ll add up to that list, which is them speaking politely. This is probably why our elders would ask us to communicate effectively and pass across our messages in a gentle and polite manner. 

Although the sudden increasing demand in digitisation and everything moving online has paved the way even more for people being courteous, sober and kind. On a regular day, even when you actually do have to exercise authority over your subordinates, you can’t help but add the word ‘Please’ before all sentences. Yet we do see a lot of times that we fumble physically when we have to communicate, and in those rarest of occasions, the politeness goes for a toss. 

The same holds true for listening as well. In one of my previous blogs, I made a mention of how and when it’s imperative to stop and listen while the other person speaks. Unfortunately, this has become a far fetched affair, especially in contemporary times, when almost no one wants to listen to the speaker, and wants to deliberately put across their own viewpoints, sometimes (which is very rare indeed) politely, and most other times aggressively. Yet, if we do turn the pages of history, it’d come to the knowledge that, though in the earlier days there were differences of opinion between various schools of thoughts, yet none would be disrespectful towards each other, where they’d be avid listeners first and then commentators. 

Even in our daily lives, we do encounter such situations when during informal tete-a-tete between friends and family, we seldom want to lend an ear, and instead get busy proclaiming our status and value in the society. But, what good does it do at length? Could we achieve anything candid out of the same? Debaters would most definitely be putting forward the view that what good could be achieved by listening to a person that’s just merely putting forward a humdrum point of view. Thing is, when analysed deeply, it’d be noted most often we do indulge in the same ‘humdrumness’ as well. 

Where does it all stop, and what could a probable solution be to curb out all the indifferences, in the hope of establishing peace and oneness. Just the same as the headline states. Listening, if you aren’t listening enough, and letting the other person speak. Summing up, I’d like to state that listening couldn’t be that detrimental, instead it’s equally beautiful and elegant as speaking. 

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