The Secret to a Healthy Relationship Isn’t a Secret at All
The secret to lasting, satisfying relationships is not a secret at all. Sincere listening is the key to all romantic, platonic or work-related relationships. Trust blossoms when people feel heard and understood. Of course, there’s a difference between hearing and listening, and all of us could use practice with the latter. In his book, The Lost Art of Listening: How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships , Michael P. Nichols writes, “The essence of good listening is empathy, which can be achieved only by suspending our preoccupation with ourselves and entering into the experience of the other person. Part intuition and part effort, it’s the stuff of human connection.” Want to connect better with the people in your life? Listen up! Reflect. Listening is a skill , and reflecting is a technique almost all mental health professionals and business coaches use when teaching listening to their clients. When practicing reflecting, you reflect back what the other person has said, bu...