LISTEN AND LEARN.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 871, 24 November 1916, Page 4

LISTEN AND LEARN.

Do you know how to listen? "Why, what a question! Of course I do," will be the answer of almost every person not sensible of physical deafness. Yet possibly *ine-tenths of those clamorous assertors never did, and never will, possess the gentle art of listening. It is an art, an accomplished, graceful one, too, and about the only one in the whole category of human attributes that brings more genuine ioy to one's friends than to oneself. Who doesn't appreciate the joy of pouring forth troubles and cares, joys, projects, ambitions, and adventures into an attentive, sympathetic ear? But to manv is it given to taste this bliss uunllovod? In other words, to be listened to without a barelv concealed impatience on the part of the listener wishing to sret in a word. Watch any group of chatterers, and count the occasions on which one person is allowed to finish a sentence without another interrupting. Oftentimes the interrupters dash in 5n battalions, and the one gift* pd with the most persistence takes the floor—for the time boiuor. of course. Tt is an ensv and en f ortnlninor experiment to test how manv folk among TOUT aeouaintances "re reallv interested in what, von have to sav. Tf vou ever feel when talking to a companion, or amonr; a gronn of people, that vour remarks are not particularly interesting, just pause ouietlv, mid-vav in a phrase—in ninetv-nine out a hundred cases your will not he noticed. An even simpler test mav be tried. Tf for a moment, the conversation is interrupted, and attention is drawn to something else, don't continue unless others reloss others remnrlr it, and without doubt the finish of vour observations will never be voiced, for -"'hen conversation is resumed it most likely will concern something entirelv foreign to what you were saving. The jov of hearing vour voice has become so dominant, thnt discourtesy increases more and more, and we don 't even notice how artnminnllv rude we nve. The habit, of interrupting also blunts our powers of reason and observation, and settles us down into the narrow little groove of self. NnturaHv. if we do not, trouble to listen to another's ideas, we do not need to use our senses of perception to weifh its merits or its demerits. We have lost, the ancient art of repartee, not because we have less bmins than the prand ladv and gallant who bandied words so wittilv that thev were recorded for posterity's entertainment, but because we have not kept our wits sharpened bv listening for the subtleties of others' conversations. Listen and learn is a wise old saving, and if we listened more there would be a deal less said that isn't worth listening to. You pot new ideas from listening, and plenty of fun in picking out who is worth listening to and who isn't. You'll usual'v find the one most worthv of attention to be the individual who is the readiest to dry up under the influence of the persistent, interrupter. You'll learn, too. that blind conceit is the ruling passion of frail hnmanitv.