Deep-dive listening is probably a term that's new to you. As a frog, I know a little about deep diving but, until recently, I didn't know anything about diving and listening. What could one possibly have to do with the other? A lot, I found out. Have you ever talked to someone and wondered, after the conversation was over, if they'd heard anything you said? I think we all feel that way, more often than we'd like. Frogs and humans, too, seem to have problems listening...I mean really listening. We're all so busy that our minds can't concentrate on just one thing anymore. While we're listening to you talk, we're mentally writing our grocery list, and trying to figure out how to make time to get the kids picked up after soccer practice. We might get the gist of what you're saying but we certainly haven't felt what you were feeling...what you were trying to convey. Deep-dive listening is total-immersion, empathic listening; really diving deep into the heart of the conversation. Instead of hearing only what we want to hear, or hearing with a filter on, we can deeply listen to everyone; even those whose opinions vary greatly from our own. Instead of shutting them down by telling them how wrong they are, we can listen with our hearts as well as our ears, and try to see things from their perspective. Instead of "preaching" and trying to convert others that they should go along with us, we can learn to ask intelligent questions. The results of deep-dive listening will surprise you. We might even learn something by keeping quiet. It's difficult to do deep-dive listening; we don't have the experience but with practice, we can learn to listen this way...not once in awhile but all the time. You'll find yourself seeing others in a whole new and more compassionate way. And wouldn't that be wonderful?
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