People love to talk. If you ever attempt the exercise of not speaking for one full day, you’ll find that it is very, very difficult. The difficulty expands beyond the fact that you can’t simply ask someone for a glass of water or directions. There’s the added struggle of keeping your mouth shut when you just want to give your two cents on a matter, offer advice, or even spread gossip. People can focus a lot on imparting words and information onto others. For some reason, we think it elevates our status or makes us seem smarter to say a lot. The truth is that, saying less can actually be what makes us stronger. I made a point in recent years to become a better listener and it changed my life. It changed a lot of my relationships. It made me more diplomatic in relationships. It even caused me to walk away from some. Here is what happens when you listen more and talk less.
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People open up more
First off, people open up to you more. When people don’t fear that, at any moment, you’ll interrupt or make the conversation about you, they share more personal details.
