He who answers before listening -- that is his folly and his shame.---Proverbs 18:13
Waiting patiently while others talk is a key listening skill. Without this skill, you will often fail to understand the root cause of a conflict, and you may complicate matters with inappropriate reactions.
Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 166.
Food for Thought
How often are you thinking about what you're going to say while the other person is finishing what they're saying?
This is a hard one, right? But a little bit of discipline can go a long way in the listening department. One suggestion Ken makes is learning to be comfortable with silence. For example, the next time you jump in your car to go somewhere, resist the urge to turn on the radio. Roll down the window (unless it's winter!) and drive in silence. Whether it's two blocks or twenty-seven miles, drive in silence.
Silence… it's not the absence of sound, but the absence of noise. Take the noise away and you'll be amazed at what you can hear. It might be the song of mockingbirds. Or maybe the heart of a significant matter.
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