The strongest form of communication is not talking, it’s listening, and sometimes it’s the hardest to remember.

The power of listening not only shows you’re open and willing to understand someone, but it’s the strongest superpower you will ever possess if you can master it.

Why? Because people just want to be heard.

By being heard, they are being acknowledged. By being acknowledge means they exist, and feel accepted.

Nobody in the history of this planet has ever landed in serious trouble for just listening. It’s our mouths that land us in trouble, not our ears!

So that alone should tell us something very important about communication, and that listening first should be our number one priority.

No matter what conversation, conflict or discussion you are having, you have to listen in order to understand what the person is talking about. Not only will this omit misunderstandings, it will also enable you to learn something.

Often people will drop grains of truth about themselves when we allow them to speak. Also, they will drop hints or tips along the way which we can learn from to help us achieve our goals and desires.

The power of listening also gives us the ability to understand ourselves and enables us to rather respond than react when a situation is unfavourable.

This rule applies when dealing with life partners, managing clients or communicating within our social circles. However, because life has become fast-paced, we hardly give time for people to reach out, and we have become too anxious to react to what they say instead of waiting for our cue to respond or reply.

The number one rule of learning to listen is waiting for the full stop. There is a fine line between interrupting and interjecting conversations.

Interrupting usually indicates objection if there is a reactive response. This is when a conversation becomes hijacked and can raise tension levels.

Interjecting is pretty much the same thing, however, it can be easily cleaned off when replying with a question to ask someone to explain something specific in detail.

This gives an indication to our opponent that we are indeed listening and they will have a more positive response than if you interrupt. This technique can also be used to sway a conversation in your favour because people like to be acknowledged, and the fastest route is to show interest in what ever it is they are saying.

There will be times when we feel attacked or under fire when communicating with someone, but showing interest will always ease tension why? Because people will talk louder, become harsh or abrasive when they feel they are not being heard. So, listen to them.