Riya learns to listen

Riya was totally an extroverted child. She loved to go out, make new friends, speak out freely about what is in her mind, and not be shy about getting attention. But with these great qualities, she had come into a habit that was a little inappropriate. It was the habit of talking more than listening. In her school, she would sit with a friend and chatter with them instead of listening to what the teacher is teaching. Another negative habit that she developed was cutting what others were saying in the middle and not letting them complete their statements, so that she could add her own.

Once when two of her teachers were talking, Riya interrupted in between, and without letting them complete their conversion, she started saying what she wanted to say. The teachers were very upset by this behavior and one of them said in a strict voice, “Riya! You should have patience and wait for others to complete before talking”. Riya got  upset hearing this, but it did not have a long-term effect on her. But due to her habit of not listening to others, her relationship with her friends and classmates was getting hindered. 

Riya got an idea that her friends are not talking to her as much as they did initially and she started to wonder why. Once at home when she was thinking about this, her mother saw her and asked what happened. She told her mother what was the case and asked to help her understand the situation. Listening to this her mom started guessing why Riya’s friends were avoiding to talk to her. She asked Riya, “Tell me, why do you think they may be doing this?” Riya started talking and went on for a very long time. She talked about various possibilities because of which this might be happening.

When her mom tried to stop her to tell something, Riya would not stop and continued with her talking. Her mom suddenly realized what was the problem and spoke sternly, “Riya stop! I got it why your friends are avoiding you, it’s because you don’t listen to them and just continue saying what you want to say. If we don’t let others speak, and listen to what they are saying, how would they think that they are in a conversation? As a result, they will start avoiding to talk to us”. Riya thought about what her mother said and thought of following her advice. Later, as she started listening to people and controlling her talking, she realized that her problem was solved.

What we learned

Listening to others is very important and helps us improve our communication skills, understanding, and relationship with others.