Teach Me To Be Quiet

I was sitting in a coffee shop about a week ago and I always do, I began to people watch. I noticed this couple having an argument. But what was upsetting about it was that the man was talking way too much. He wouldn’t let the lady speak hardly at all. And by the looks of it, when she was talking he wasn’t really listening but rather staring off into space thinking up his next point. In the end she got so frustrated that she walked off and to somewhat of a surprise he stayed there and drank his coffee as if he always been there by himself and nothing was going on.

At first I was like what jerk off. But later in the day when the whole thing came back to me I started to realize that I do the same thing all the time. The conversation may start out cordial with both parties talking equally and listening equally but if any confrontation comes up, one of us starts talking just to talk. Someone speaks just to let the other person know that they aren’t really listening. Even worse while other person does get to talk, I constantly find myself drifting off thinking about what I’m going to say next instead off listening to what they have to say.

I think it would serve people well to try and be quiet. To listen first and speak second. To care about what the other person is trying to tell you before diving into your own thoughts. This might help people to resolve conflicts much quicker and even possibly avoid full on arguments.

If people just listened to one another we might find that we don’t have all that much to say after all because for once both parties actually listened.