the art of listening

listening is an art. don't laugh. not many people are good listeners. i try very hard to listen to what people are saying. its really difficult . alot of times we use our own prejudices when listening to someone's thoughts and assume they mean one thing and start to respond before we've really heard what the other person is saying. hearing someone out can actually prevent an argument. often i listen to my supervisor go on her idiotic ramblings and i think i hear a warning sign for her to go psycho, but i hold off on responding until ive heard what she has actually said. its impossible to second guess her, and much better not to get defensive until i really know that there is something to complain about. (although more times than not, there is reason.)
often i find myself speaking to someone and they arent really listening to what im saying and they are just waiting to pounce in with whatever it is that they want to say. often they might interrupt and tell the end of the sentence and ruin a story im trying to tell . often people have assumed too much and they were totally wrong. i have one friend who interrupts me when im speaking to ask me a question that if they hadnt interrupted me it would have been my next sentence.
if you listen to what people say they will tell you all you need to know. too bad so many people just dont listen.
so many times when i get interrupted i completely lose my train of thought and never manage to tell the person what i had intended to tell them in the first place. which i always figure is their loss.
it can be quite uncomfortable to be asked a firing squad of questions, whereas if the person was left to say their piece in peace they may be more candid. they may feel less self conscious.
im not suggesting everyone have one sided conversations, its just that its important to heed social cues in conversation instead of speaking out of turn and not letting the other person get a word in edgewise. its important to try and really listen to what each other is saying. a lot of misunderstandings would be eliminated, a lot of insight gained.