Listening: taking notice of and acting on what someone says; response to advice or request. Something we learned in kindergarten but gets twisted in so many ways. Have you ever talked to someone and they just shake their head or immediately agree without you finishing your thought? Or have someone look down at their phone the whole time you are talking? 

July of my junior year was the most impacting day of my life. As my basketball team and I gathered around in the locker room at half time; suddenly one of my teammates started to sob in the bathroom. I wasn’t close with this teammate but something about the way she was crying told me I needed to talk to her. I knew with the pain in her voice she had no one else to talk to. 

I mustered up the strength to walk into the bathroom. I started off with a gentle sound in my voice, to know she was not alone. I told her, “I noticed you were not doing so well right now.”

She exclaimed, “I just need a hug and someone to listen to me.” I nodded with relief that she would open up to me. She slowly started talking about how she was upset about the way she was playing and that nothing was going her way today. 

I calmly explained, “everyone has off days, and that's ok; what’s important is that we stick together and move forward when things aren’t going our way.” She slowly looked up to me with a sigh of reassurance.

She stated, “thank you for talking with me for a minute, and actually listening; I needed someone to do that.” We stood up and found the strength to hug out the situation that was tossed our way. 

Not only does listening enhance your ability to understand or to make you a communicator, it also makes the experience of speaking to you more enjoyable to others. The difference between listening and really taking the time to understand what someone is saying could impact you and the world around you.