How to Listen Properly

To listen properly is to set yourself aside for a few minutes. No rehearsing your reply. No waiting for your turn. Just being fully where the other person is.

When someone speaks, the gift they most want is not advice. It is the feeling of being taken seriously. Almost no one gives this freely, which is why those who do are remembered for a lifetime.

Listen with your eyes. With your silence. With one good question that shows you actually heard the last thing they said. That is enough. That is a lot.