I spent two days this week at an education event which had an emphasis on the important of listening as people tell their story.  In many stories people choose to tell you can gain insight into the subtext which they have not told.  In many cases being able to give voice to these subtext stories can produce the most emotional healing and benefit for the person.  So for a chaplain or other care provider to recognize where there is a subtext story and invite the person to discuss it processing the memory can produce emotional healing.

One the most stubborn impediments to listening is the fact that many times we are in the process of forming our response before the person we are listening to has completely finished their sentence.  Effective listening includes waiting to even form a response until the person who is speaking has finished what they are saying.

The event was very helpful to me and I can see that it will assist me in being a better chaplain in the future.  The lesson from the event can help anyone be a better listener and have more substantial conversations with those people we meet.  Here is a test of how well you listen.  The next time you are listening monitor yourself and see if you start to form your response while the person is still speaking.  If you do that, then you need to resist the urge to form your response until the person is done speaking.