You Know What I Mean?

I looked at this online chat board about an emotionally charged subject. Since it was such a hot topic, it generated over 300 reader comments with-in a day. I thought it was interesting that people bother to comment after that many other comments, when there is little chance of getting any feedback from another reader, unless of course, they insult another reader.

I think many people just comment for the sake of expressing themselves. They don't necessarily need a listener, just as long as they 'get it off their chest'. It's so much more satisfying though, to have a listener who actually takes time to comprehend what you're saying.

I think I'm pretty in tune to whether someone is interested in what I'm saying or not. Whenever I sense someone is not into what I'm saying, I just stop talking. Sometimes mid-sentence. Every once in a while when I do this, a person will notice that I've stopped and say something like "what were you saying?".

Some people don't seem to need someone to display active interest while they talk. Sometimes, I purposely show dis-interested body language the whole time they're talking to see if it changes the pace of their story.

The most challenging thing to do is to show active interest in what someone else is saying. However, it's an enjoyable challenge to show how another person's words have affected me. It shows honor to the speaker. Plus, when you show someone's words have made an impact, they're less likely to keep saying the same thing over and over.