The art of listening is a funny thing. I believe we learn to use our voice and body to demand a response from our environment before we learn to listen to our surroundings and other individuals. I don’t spend a huge amount of time around baby humans, but it almost seems as though listening is something they have to adjust to. It is instinctual to cry when their immediate needs are not being met, but when do they come to know familiar voices and the meanings of specific tones?

I was speaking to a fella the other night at work who genuinely appeared interested in talking to me. It was at the end of the night and he and his mates were the only customers left at the bar. We had discovered we had a couple of shared passions and he continued to ask questions long after I had poured him his beer. The funny thing was that he really didn’t seem to be listening to me. He would ask a question, I would offer my response, then he’d reply with something somewhat irrelevant, as though he’d been having a conversation with himself. A few minutes after he’d returned to his mates sitting at their table he actually called out and asked me what we’d been talking about! Maybe the guy was tired, perhaps he’d had a bad day, I don’t know. But it just struck me as strange behaviour. Anyway, his question surprised me so much that I couldn’t elicit a response and just laughed at him out loud.

I appreciate a good listener. I love it when someone is able to truly hear what you are saying – even if things are not being captured by one’s words. I would even suggest that eyes are more useful than the ear when it comes to that sort of hearing.