Being Supportive Listeners

I really enjoyed the section on "Listening to Support Others", which is one of the adapting to listening goals. In order to listen and provide support to others, we should practice being mindful, speak cautiously when expressing opinions or judgement, and try to understand others' perspectives. It is important that we are open-minded and careful not to offend the other person or attack them even if we disagree with them, for it may drive them away and make them feel more vulnerable. This goes hand in hand with trying to put ourselves in the other's shoes, which I think is what most people forget to do when they are arguing with someone or are upset. It is also helpful to understand the other person's perspective because it can open our view and realize what we previously didn't. Furthermore, it will help us understand why they may have acted a certain way and did what they did.  Other techniques to being a supportive listener is to paraphrase by restating what the other person is saying, but in our own point of view. This is helpful in clarifying communication to ensure that both people are on the same page. In addition, it helps to use minimal encouragers and express support. Minimal encouragers, like following their sentences by, "and then what happened?", cue the speaker to elaborate more. We can also express support to show we care, even if we disagree with the speaker.