Day 2: Something someone told me about myself that I’ll never forget

Nwachukwu Ejiofor
Sep 4, 2018 · 2 min read

Today’s challenge is about something someone told me about myself. Honestly, few people have told me things about myself (some positive, some negative), which after careful consideration, I find to be true. This might be mainly because I don’t seek feedback from a lot of people and because people are generally quick to jump into conclusions, which are mostly false and misleading.

There are quite a few to choose from though, and in picking which one I’ll talk about today, I decided to go for the one that first came to mind on seeing this topic. And it turns out to be positive.

So, towards the end of my high school days, I had a close friend who was, and still is I presume, a chatterbox. He could talk to you about anything and everything. He was quite humorous too so it wasn’t boring listening to him. He especially had this knack of telling the same story from a different angle.

One day, he told me, “You’re a great listener.” He went on to explain how I was quick to listen, and listen with rapt attention, that made people feel cool about themselves. I was elated with that compliment. And I’ve found it to be actually true.

In most of my relationships, I’ve found that the other party does most of the talking while I do most of the listening. I think it has to do with my temperament (I’m a MelPhleg) because I can count on my fingers the times I can remember being the one leading a conversation, especially in a group of people (not counting the times I’ve had to share God’s Word with others). And this listening thing has been confirmed over time by other people.

Listening is an important skill in conversation because, obviously, it helps you actually understand what someone is saying so you can know how to react appropriately. It can help you discover where someone is coming from in relation to the topic of discussion. Listening involves more than hearing the words, but seeing the body language, noticing the speech inflexions and the emotions being conveyed. This is important especially when people are sharing their personal stuff with you.

I love listening to others and I’m trying to improve in this regard. However, I’m starting to learn how to do some more talking too (we too have stuff to yarn). The ability to communicate (both talking and listening) is a well-celebrated skill and is something we all should develop.

Nwachukwu Ejiofor

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