Inspiring Without Speaking

"It's amazing how this seemingly small thing - simply paying attention to another, really asking, really listening, even during a brief conversation - can evoke such a wholehearted response... When someone really asks, we really answer." - Susan Scott

This week was the LMC retreat, and each year there's a session on the communication differences between men and women. Men tend to listen side-by-side, women tend to listen face-to-face. Research shows that both genders listen equally well. Still, there's room for improvement. Focusing throughout an entire conversation, with the pure intent to do good for the other, inspires people to engage them.

One of the best at doing this is my friend Brandi Peterson. She has the empathy of Mother Teresa (and endures hardship just as well), and it shows in the way she absorbs every detail of conversation. The old saying is "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." A person who asks about the well-being of my family, more often than some of my own family, is the type of person I like to be around.