![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tamibrumbaugh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Active-Listening-pic-300x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I stopped mid-sentence.<\/p>\n
Was he even listening to me? His eyes were scrolling text messages on his phone, and he didn\u2019t seem to notice that my mouth was now clamped shut. I\u2019d been in the middle of answering his<\/em> question for crying out loud.<\/p>\n I scowled and began talking again. \u201cSo I decided to take a month off work to hitch-hike and swim until I reached Australia so I could finally find a blue-ringed octopus for Hannah though if it bit me I\u2019d be paralyzed for the rest of the day but that would give me time to think about my next book and give you time to paint the house a bright pink. Wouldn\u2019t that be nice?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMm-hmm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when I get back I thought I\u2019d finally get Cheyenne a Siberian Husky friend and put you in charge of training it and then we\u2019d start having spinach every night because I know how much you love eating it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n He looked up suddenly. \u201cWhat was that?\u201d<\/p>\n Ever been there? I hate to admit it, but I\u2019ve also been the one who wasn\u2019t truly listening. I\u2019m currently trying to work on being an active listener.<\/p>\n Last week I shared a \u201cPersonal Inventory\u201d list of questions to trigger more communication with family members. Hopefully conversation is flowing with your loved ones. Here are some active listening skills<\/strong> we can use to keep it going.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll dig into each of these skills deeper in the weeks to come. I need to stop for now as my daughter is talking to me and I need to follow my own advice by actively listening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I stopped mid-sentence. Was he even listening to me? His eyes were scrolling text messages on his phone, and he didn\u2019t seem to notice that my mouth was now clamped shut. I\u2019d been in the middle of answering his question … Continue reading \n