Conscious Conversing

Have you ever been in a deep or personal conversation with someone and noticed you had lost their attention? Did you continue, or did you stop talking altogether? What was missing in the conversation that contributed to your losing their interest? What can be done to have an engaging conversation with others?

There needs to be a healthy balance between talking and listening. This could be challenging for those with the gift of the gab who enjoy the sound of their voices. It is important to give others the opportunity to talk as communication should be a shared experience. 

Also, whether interesting or not, stories can often give different perspectives on life’s experiences. Think about those holiday stories that inform us on what our friends like and dislike, and what we may be encouraged to try in our future holiday adventures.

Entering a conversation with an open mind to learn from others is always healthy. When we close our mind by prejudging, we deprive ourselves of gaining some knowledge and understanding.

Let us be present both physically and mentally even during a phone conversation as multi-tasking will come through in our responses or follow up questions.  

If someone decides to talk about the challenges they are going through, we should steer clear of the desire to share our own experiences as this could diminish theirs.  All experiences are individual. 

We shouldn’t listen with the intent to reply as we might miss out on some important information. 

Let’s be brief, considerate and interested in other people and be careful not to assume that others will be interested in everything we have to share.