This last week I have been studying communication arts. Very very interesting!! It made me think deep about things I have never thought deep about before. Lol. (Guess that's what school is for...right?) So the topic is Mindfulness....here is the paper I wrote...
Why is being mindful important???
Being mindful is
the act of being fully present in a conversation. It is about being fully tuned in to the
person speaking where you are only thinking about their words and nonverbal
communications. This is not always an
easy thing to do because of distractions that can occur. It is imperative to realize how important
mindfulness is and ways to improve this active listening skill.
Being mindful can come in handy with
many aspects of one’s life. For instance
in a work situation being mindful can help you gain respect among your
employees, coworkers, or managers. When
someone feels like you are listening there will be a common respect made. The person might even elaborate more and
express things in more depth. (Wood, 2010)
Equally important is the amount of information taken in when mindful
listening is put into play. This helps
misunderstandings between individuals not happen. For example if someone is in their own world
and another person is telling you what files you need to make a copy of. The person spacing out only hears he/she need
to copy files, but did not hear what files.
That is obviously some valuable information needed to complete the
task. There are many ways to develop
mindfulness as long as one is willing to try.
Remember when mindful listening, it
includes taking the perspective of another.
Try repeating the words spoken by another mentally. This way it keeps the mind focused on what the
other is saying. (Wood, 2010) Also
remember to pay attention to the nonverbal ques. This allows one to understand how this
individual feels about what they are talking about. The main idea is to listen with one’s entire
self, to be entirely there without the mind trying to modify, answer, or repair
anything. (Jones, 2010) Yes, one should
make replies like “uh huh”, and ask questions so the speaker senses one’s
interest. By the end of a conversation
with someone ask, “Did I understand the other person’s thoughts and
feelings?” If the answer is no then more
practice with mindful listening is needed.
Another way to practice mindful
listening is like meditation. Start by
listening to the sounds around for a certain amount of time. ("Mindful
Listening - A Guided Mindfulness Exercises") For example, one might hear the weather
outside, and noises about the home.
Don’t examine them just listen and take them in. Notice the feelings that might arise as this
exercise is being done but don’t intermingle with them. This exercise opens up the awareness within
someone, creating mindfulness.
Mindfulness is an important active
listening skill one can use at home, with friends, or work situations. Mindfulness allows one to be fully present in
a conversation. This makes it difficult
for misunderstanding to come about, and mistakes to happen. Mindful listening is a must learn skill for
all.
References
Wood, J. T. (2010).
Mindful listening. In Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters (6th
ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Jones, C. L. (2010,
February 10). Improving Relationships through Mindful Listening. Ezine
Articles. Retrieved November 9, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Improve-Your-Relationships-Through-Mindful-Listening&id=3734848
Mindful Listening - A
Guided Mindfulness Exercises. (n.d.). The Guided Meditation Site. Retrieved
November 9, 2012, from http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/mindful-listening.html
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