What do the Peaceniks think? Maybe it is a good idea to keep a well funded and strong military?
Or do you think the USA should rely only on politics, negotiations, sanctions, etc against countries like Russia, China, etc?
Or should we just withdraw into our own borders and let the strong conquer the weak?
9 Steps to Good Effective Listening. I copied there steps below for your convenience.
I have written about this before, however I have been recently reminded exactly how hard it is to be a really good and effective listener !!! :-O So many distractions, wanting to chime in with your position / story / solution, so little time, other. This means you get a remedial class in listening skills and techniques. :-) Enjoy!!!
1. It’s not about you. Whenever you’re talking to someone and wish to lend an empathetic ear, the first thing you need to understand is that it’s not about you. That’s the secret to authentic empathic listening – placing your conversation partner above your needs. And it can be quite hard to put aside personal opinions and make it all about him/her. After all, you’re not his/her therapist. So, before you decide to be there for someone, make sure you’re available emotionally. Otherwise, there’s no point in encouraging him/her to share a personal issue for which you’re not ready to provide understanding and support.
2. Put away your phone Too often we find ourselves checking our phone or answering a text message while the other person may be pouring their heart out. This is one of those unpleasant habits that many of us have adopted as a result of living in the digital era. We get so hooked on social media that we sometimes end up losing sight of the person who’s right there in front of us. And it’s impossible to establish an emotional bond when you’re regularly checking your phone, and all you can say is “Aha” or “I understand.” So, whenever you wish to offer empathy and create an authentic connection, put your phone away and ask the other person to do the same. G2A addition: Turn OFF the TV, Put down the book, newspaper, other. No distractions.
3. Be an active listener. In a way empathic listening and active listening are synonymous. Being an active listener means being present in the conversation. It means ignoring any distractions and focusing exclusively on the person in front of you. Active listeners live in the ‘here and now.’ They immerse themselves into the other person’s universe and seek to gain a better understanding of the topic in discussion. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to listen and nod in silence. A conversation is a two-way street where both partners exchange ideas, impressions, and seek to resonate with one another emotionally. In short, active listening is about presence and depth.
4. Refrain from criticism. As you can probably imagine, empathic listening implies a high degree of emotional intelligence. When someone shares a story or event that holds significant importance to him/her, it would be ideal to refrain from evaluations, criticism, or negative feedback. There are times when other people’s problems may seem trivial, ridiculous, or even infuriating. But once again, it’s not about you, it about them. Remember, your goal is to understand and provide emotional support. Any form of criticism will only create tension and make it difficult for you to ‘forge’ authentic connections. Listen, understand, and empathize.
5. Adjust your body language. As you probably know, body language is of paramount importance for authentic social interactions. When it comes to empathic listening, your body can help you create the kind of interaction that makes room for understanding and empathy. Your posture and gestures can either bring people closer or create a barrier that makes it difficult for you to listen actively and empathically. If you want to make people feel safe and welcome, make sure to adopt a relaxed posture with open arms and constant eye contact. You can even go for a friendly pat on the shoulder or even a warm hug.
6. Paraphrase your conversation partner. Paraphrasing is among the most effective strategies for empathic listening. Letting your conversation partner know that you understand his perspective creates an ideal climate for sharing emotions. In fact, research suggests paraphrasing – along with clarifying, questioning, and remembering details – are the critical elements of empathic listening. Furthermore, this creates a safe space where people can share and engage in self-exploration. Paraphrasing your conversation partner is relatively easy. All you need to do is listen to what your partner has to say and rephrase his/her message.
7. Ask open-ended questions. If you want your conversation partner to share, you need to ‘fuel’ the conversation by asking open-ended questions. Sometimes, people don’t ‘open up’ that easily. Not everyone will be willing to talk to you openly, especially when it comes to personal problems. And that’s why you need to give him/her a push by using questions that create opportunities for sharing. Although smart questions can enrich a conversation, make sure you’re not intrusive. You’re supposed to have a comfortable talk, not an interview. If you notice that your partner doesn’t feel comfortable, refrain from asking questions and let him/her dictate the flow of the conversation.
8. Stop giving unsolicited advice. When you’re looking to establish an emotional connection with someone, the worst thing you can do is offer unsolicited advice. Nothing ‘kills’ the vibe of a good conversation more than telling the other person what he/she should do. Remember that empathic listening is mostly about understanding and ‘connectedness.’ Sometimes, all it takes to establish an emotional connection is active listening. If, however, you think you have a good piece of advice to offer, ask your conversation partner if he/she is interested in hearing it.
9. Don’t ‘fill up’ the silence. Many of us tend to feel awkward during the occasional moments of silence that are specific to any conversation. But silence can be a powerful tool in establishing an authentic connection is you know how to use it. You can use silence to allow the other person to take charge of the conversation or give him/her enough time to process your input and come up with an answer. And let’s not forget that a conversation doesn’t rely solely on a constant exchange of words. There’s also your body language which through which you can express empathy and build an authentic connection.
It is amazing how many opinions there are out there... :-)
It will be interesting to see what happens.
Don't bother my poor children. After all the time he spent attacking the Hunter Biden and others who did not even work in the government.
I did find this headline interesting... Apparently Daddy is okay with Donald Jr being molested in the showers... But not his Ivanka...
"Michael Cohen says Donald Trump told him if one of his kids had to go to prison to 'make sure' it was Donald Jr., not Ivanka"
If you are curious why Donald is so worried that his family maybe wearing matching striped outfits... Here are some recent headlines:
And if the they are not in prison, I am certain there are going to be a lot of investors / banks who are interested in suing for damages. This is interesting.
My question is: Does anyone think Trump is innocent of sexual assault, improperly inflating / deflating property valuations, trying to pressure GA SOS to commit fraud, inciting violence, other?
Since GOP politicians seem unwilling to support HR4 John Lewis Voting Bill to fix the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by revising the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes, hopefully they can get this passed so there will be NO MORE January 6ths...
Just a reminder about how the Justices weakened the Voters Rights Act of 1965.
And here is a reminder of why it is still needed...
Bad News: ~2000 dying each day and rising.
Good News: Hospitalization rate nearing peak?
Bad News: People are burned out and seem indifferent to ~2,000 Americans dying daily.
Good News: Many Americans do get vaccinated and wear masks.
Video by The Offspring is wonderful and disturbing. I love that band.
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have topped 100,000 for the first time
With this death rate... Where are they getting new customers?
Romney continues to impress me.
"President Biden said he was going to try to unite the country," the senator said. "His comments in Georgia did not suggest he's trying to pull us back together again." He continued: "He's got to recognize that when he was elected, people were not looking for him to transform America. They were looking to get back to normal. To stop the crazy."
since they were weakened in 2013. In 1965 American citizens across parties agreed that it was wrong for states to attempt to make it harder for certain citizens to vote. Therefore they got together to pass a law to guarantee it would not happen.
Unfortunately as noted in the first link, SCOTUS decided that Congress should clarify the 1965 law. Then something worse happened, modern conservative voters and the GOP politicians decided to leave the law weakened. And even worse some States are taking advantage of the weakness to disenfranchise poor and highly mobile voters.
Now we Americans have a chance to make this right, and yet conservative voters seem okay with State's making it harder for some citizens to vote. They seem to believe that voting is a "privilege" and not a "right". Something that I and the Constitution totally disagree with !!!
I hope every citizen decides to protect Voter Rights.
And to demand that both parties win with honesty and open debate.
Not by suppressing votes and gerrymandering.
Like a normal "good honorable loser"? Instead of continuing to promote the unproven big lie.
I mean pretty much every other President in the history of the USA has:
Where as Trump chose to:
And at this time ~75% of Republican voters still believe the Big Lie. Which means that they:
Thus they weaken our country. All because a very poor loser planted a conspiracy theory in their mind.
I sure hope the Republicans come back to valuing the rule of law, and making it safe and easy for every eligible voter to vote. Winning by intentionally trying to keep people from voting and weakening the power of their vote is NOT good for our democracy or country. :-(
I mean image if a DEM Leader went around claiming there was deep voter fraud in SD? Would that help things or destabilize them? Faith in our local and state officials and systems is what keeps our country strong. Destroy that faith at your own peril.
Trump lost by 4 States and ~7.5 million votes. It was not even close. It is time accept reality and support our country.
A terrible day in our country's history. Criminals chose to attack our country, our country's laws / processes and the clearly stated will of the majority of our country's citizens. This resulted in the injury and deaths of police officers and citizens.
It was terrible, and yet what happened today is probably worse. Many citizens and politicians are failing stand up and state unequivocally that the Capitol Riot was a terrible totally unacceptable attack on the USA.
And even today the majority of Republican citizens work to undermine our country and faith in the rule of law. :-( It is so depressing when I stop to think about it.
Dozens of recounts with no significant errors found, dozens of court cases filed with no problems found, and a conspiracy minded minority of US citizens still deny that Biden won by 7.5 million votes and 4 states. IT WAS NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!
I saw this on FB and it definitely resonated with me. Often we hear about the stresses that working Mom's face, however sometimes I think we forget about the Dads.
The original meme had an image of a manly man with dirty gloves, which did not fit the reality of most of us modern Dad's. And I thought about adding a picture depicting the decades of going to the office, slogging through emails, sitting through endless meetings, tolerating challenging peers / managers, sitting on airplanes, etc all so our family had a nice home and our kids could be kids.
So to the Dad' out there your efforts are worthwhile, and I hope your family appreciates them.
To the children out there, yes we Dad's do love you dearly even when we have to miss that event, we choose to say no, we disagree with your method or choices, etc. You are on our minds even when you are not there.
