Communication

We almost spend more than 12 hours a day on various kind of communication, be it reading, writing, speaking or listening. While we think we are good in listening, we are actually suckers in it. Let's see people around us or even ourselves, since young, we are exposed to or attend some communication trainings for reading, speaking, and writing, but never listening! 

When one speaks, automatically, we will voice out immediately our view without really putting ourselves in the speaker's shoes. We never think from the speaker's frame of reference. In short. this is what the author of The 8th Habit said, we don't have empathic listening. We never let the speaker speaks until he/she feels understood, and we start voicing out our never humble opinions. When we are asked to restate what the speaker says, most of the time, the speaker would say we have misunderstood him/her. In short, pride and ego drive us to such an extent. We would give the excuse that the speaker has deviated from the agendas, the speaker should not this and that, and so we should this and that... But how many times, it is because of us, which causes the speaker to have no chance to convey the message intended?