The Art of Conversation

Over this past weekend, I practiced my reflective listening skill and made sure to pay attention to exactly what I was doing in the process. To start off, I realized that the best way to practice this skill is to have a conversation with a college, or a friend, honestly anyone. See, conversation is a very important part of reflective listening. In order to have a conversation there must be at least two people present and there must be an informal exchange of ideas taking place. During the conversation, I wanted to make sure that it didn’t come to an awkward pause where each person tries to figure out what they are going to say next. I made sure that I asked open ended questions, and found a common ground while I was speaking. For example, I would ask questions like “what kind of music do you listen to?” or “what college do you go to and what is your major?” By doing this, you are able to control the pace and flow of the conversation and also practice reflective listening because of the fact that you want the conversation to continue, so you are listening to the responses to the questions that you are asking. In the process, I noticed that I was gathering information after each and every response, and in return I understood what was being said to me.

What I Practiced

As I said above, the exact skills I practiced were asking open ended questions, establishing a common ground, non-verbal expressions such as smiling and nodding, and I would never interrupt. This is a very important rule to follow, because if you interrupt, it shows that you do not actually care about the conversation, your mind is somewhere else and it is extremely disrespectful. I believe that this process as a whole contributed to a successful conversation and enhanced my reflective listening/active listening skills. The reason I think this contributed to a successful conversation is because it was continuous, and I was able to fully understand what was being said to me.

Want to be an active listener? Follow these simple steps

· Start the conversation off right (ask open ended questions, establish a common ground)

· Use non-verbal expressions (smile, nod, maintain good eye contact)

· Seek to find similarities between yourself and the speaker (this will make it easier to keep the conversation going)

· Limit your distractions

· Mirror the mood of the speaker

· Be sure to ask questions to show you are actively involved and understand what is being said