We Are Losing Our Listening

In Juilian Treasures video the main message was that we are losing our listening. Our world is full of noise, noises we are aware of unaware of. We have become desensitized to the noise around us and have forgotten how to truly listen to one another, or we never learned how to listen in the first place. We are an impatient world with so many technological ways to communicate that we are losing the ability to communicate effectively with a real person. Not knowing how to listen to others leads to misunderstandings that could otherwise be avoided.
Overall I agree with Juilian's message in the video and found it all very interesting. He was very passionate about his topic, which is very helpful when trying to get your point across. It also helps your audience pay attention and remember what it is you are talking about. He is defiantly a very good public speaker!
Out of the five different exercises he suggests to improve your listening I chose to try the silence technique. There is something very peaceful about shutting out noise for just a few minutes a day. I chose to have my quiet time in the morning before I went to work. My kid were still asleep and I would have my cup of coffee and just sit and relax for a few minutes. Trying not to think about anything can be very hard, especially for a woman! I feel like after I did the exercise I was calmer and able to listen better to the people around me. I was also able to hear the background noises better, the noises that I usually just tune out such as, the fridge running, the coffee pot, or my dog snoring. Maybe I was more willing to listen because I had a few minutes of utter silence to calm myself and the noises around me. I think after taking a break from listening to anything I was more able to appreciate the sounds around me, which is very important when trying to listen to someone else.
This technique showed me that while I believe I am a good listener, there is always room for improvement. Something as simple as a few minute of silence can help calm your mind so that you are more willing to listen. This technique will help me not only in my personal life, being a better listener for my children, but also in my education and professional life as well. There will always be a need for people to listen, and people who truly listen will not only get more out of what is said, but be able to communicate back more effectively.