Listening

Contemplative dyads, in particular, represent a deep interpersonal meditative practice carried out in pairs with a witness who engages in active listening while the other person reflects on a question or topic.

Supportivelistening differs from other types of listening (e.g., listening during chit-chat or aconflict, informational listening) because it requires that the support listener demon-strate emotional involvement and attunement while attending to, interpreting, andresponding to the emotions of the support seeker—a complex and challenging task.

Listening empathetically is nice to do because it makes people feel good, and it deepens relationships. But listening is good for you anyway, even if you don’t care about niceness or feeling good. If you want to get your way, you’ll have to bring people over to your side, unless you have enough power to stably coerce them.