You hear me but, you are not listening!

Previously participating in the “Listening” activity in class, I believe that there is room for improvement in my listening. What I found from this activity, when giving my undivided attention to any individual I need to be fully engaged. I learned that I need to give individuals more time to speak aside from quickly giving my input. It was interesting to realize how much information I gained just by listening to the speaker for a single minute. I believe in everyday conversations I may speak to much and not listen enough. One aspect of listening I did find rather naturally was my ability to make eye contact. I believe making eye contact if very important because you might be able to comprehend what a speaker is saying by their body language. I feel over the years I’ve grown fond to making eye contact and observing gesture more. One thing I found different was not being able to make any verbal responses, instead I nodded my head. When engaging in a conversation I feel the need to assure that I am listening by throwing in a “mmhmm” or “yeah I get you” so it was different. I’m not sure which would be considered a more correct way.

Out of the ten characteristics associated with a helping relationship, I believe I identify with the following:

• The helping relationship is meaningful
• The helping relationship involves feelings
• The helping relationship demonstrates respect for individual self-worth
• The helping relationship is a collaborative effort

I feel these are characteristics that come naturally because I enjoy learning from new perceptions and at the same time I get to share my perceptions. I also believe I am a sentimental person who can consistently relate or have empathy for someone else’s perceptions. I realize when hearing new perspectives I might have some bias’s. Despite my own bias’s I know I have to show respect to others and be open minded about their perceptions. While being opened minded I feel it is important to let others think creatively while taking a collaborative approach.

Out of the ten characters associated with a helping relationship, I feel I need to improve on the following Characteristics:

•  The Peer educator is approachable as a secure person
• The helping relationship shows clear structure

These are the characteristics I feel I can improve on. To begin, I feel like I’m not sure if peers see me as a approachable person. I say this because some people may feel more uncertain based off image, for example I have tattoos. Personally I feel I am very approachable and secure as a person but you never know. Next, I believe when I am participating in every day helping relationships I don’t think about the main purpose. In any peer relationship when I am speaking I can get lost in my own words and forget what we initially were talking about.

I feel a start to improving first, overall I could be confident in my ability to help anyone who may be uncertain to seek my help. Little things such as having that extra confidence can make a huge difference your good deeds may not go unnoticed. Next, I feel like I could be a better listener in general by listening more and thinking less about what I will say. I feel by doing this I may not get so lost in my words and will gain more out of listening. I do recognize these characteristics will not come easily and will be something I have to work on daily.