4 Ways To Be A Good Listener To Our Peers
Being able to have someone who is able to listen is important. In her book “Is There No Place For Me?”, Kate Richards provides an example of how we can approach the conversation:
“Do you want to tell me about it? We can sit and talk. We can just sit. I’ll sit here with you and hold you in this space and I’ll listen because I care and I won’t let go of you until you’re ready to walk in the world again on your own.”
How can we be attentive? We should not be on our phones as our friend is sharing about a tough week they had. We should only pursue the conversation further only if they are comfortable talking about it. Non-verbal language such as nodding can assure our friend that we are following the story they are telling. If we are comfortable, they too would be comfortable to share. If we were fidgety and acting uninterested in the conversation, this would be discouraging for people to open up and talk.
