LISTEN!

Careless listening is the handicap of our times. People are deaf not because they can’t hear but because they don’t know how to listen. Annesha Banerjee identifies the barriers to listening as an art and suggests how to avoid them

- Annesha Banerjee

On one of the days during the pre-corona times when I decided to spend a day with myself, I chose a cosy cafe at Connaught Place to sit in after hours of walking around Lutyens’, Delhi. Since I was not engaged in a conversation with someone or myself, I found myself overhearing an ongoing exchange at the table nearby, where two girls were sitting. One of them, I realized, was complaining about the other not paying attention to her as she (the latter) was distracted by her phone. “You are not listening to me,” she said and looked annoyed.

My thoughts went back to the times when people complained to me about my lack of attention and vice versa. My friend offered a practical solution to this: He always ensures that he keeps his phone at bay whenever we meet and insists I do the same. This surely helps, but does it really resolve the issue of us not paying attention and truly listening to others?

The lost skill

The best part of human experience is human relationships—the way one person bonds with another regardless of familial ties, sharing feelings and emotions. It is solely on these grounds that people come together to become a part of each other’s journey on this planet. And the key to maintaining these fulfilling connections is communication, of which only one part—talking—is focussed on extensively. Listening, an essential link for successful communication is not given due importance.