Growing up I would always wonder why my mother would say to me, "Did you hear what I just said?" and in reply (focusing on my favorite cartoon) I would say, " Yeah mom I'm listening to you!". Even though I only caught partial of what she would say to me, I worried about putting the other parts of the conversation together later when I would get into trouble.
When going through life, we may say we are listening when actuality the receiver wants you to hear what they are saying. Many people want that eye contact, because they want you to "feel" the happiness, anger or emotional issue they are having. Though sadly mistaken if you are not engaged in this you may get ridiculed for not having that "connection".
The fact of the matter is that everyone operates differently, how they listen and hear through your conversation. Both parties should be aware of this, listening and hearing perception is different and trying to read someones body language is sometimes different based on day to day. People feel that if you change from your normal routine that something may be wrong or different. Look at each situation in a different point of view and come to the conclusion that listening and hearing can be the same but are different based on the communicators conversation as well as the receiver.
When receiving the information it's always ok to filter out the "extra" stuff and focus on the meat and potatoes of the conversation. Be able to understand this! Whats your take on this? Comment below.
