actively listen
Happy hump day! On Monday, I wrote a post called “be thankful,” which centered around the idea of family, Thanksgiving, Disney Pixar’s Coco, and expressing gratitude for the good things in your life! Now that I’m finally back in Los Angeles, I’m excited to get back to business as usual!
Have you ever encountered a situation where there was a communication breakdown? They happen on a daily basis from relationship issues to company initiatives to politics to traffic signs. It would be nice to say that communication issues are an easy fix, but it takes all parties involved remaining open-minded in order to compromise and reach a best solution for everyone involved.
Not everyone is going to be open-minded, flexible, or willing to work with others. If you encounter a situation like that where someone just won’t budge, it is better to cut your losses and walk away; however, if you find that the parties involved are willing to actively listen and attempt to see things from your perspective, invest yourself. No one knows better than anyone else about other people’s needs. Keep an open mind and open the floor to discussion.
I had a really great experience recently in one of my comedy classes in which the case could be made that a fellow comedian had written a sketch that treated the female character solely as an object. It was an important topic to bring up in class because the person in question did not realize the mistake. This person is a good person who does not have ill intentions and was not offended by the issue. Instead of emotionally reacting, he responded proactively, listened to feedback, and reached a simple solution: give her a voice.
Sometimes things get really blown out of proportion, and it usually happens when a person or a group of people breaks down and refuses to communicate. Have you ever felt like you were in a stalemate or stuck at an impasse? How about gridlock? All these feelings stem from some sort of inefficient communication or communication breakdown. The nice thing about the class, though, is that there had been a repeated pattern of established respect and trust within the room that allowed for such an open dialogue.
You’re not always right. No one is. But the difference is the learning curve. Quit repeating the same habits and mistakes, fail at new things, and keep an open mind to others’ views. Don’t emotionally react, but instead respond proactively from a place of understanding.
And that sketch the fellow student wrote? Giving the female character a voice and point of view only opened up the sketch to many more possible avenues and made the initial game funnier.
Thank you so much for reading, and, as always, if you have any pressing questions or if you want to discuss something further with me, please subscribe below, follow me on Instagram or Twitter, or reach out to me on the “contact” page. I’m so grateful you're here and that I’ve been getting a lot of really challenging questions and even better feedback from a community all over the world. I couldn’t do this without you! So THANK YOU! I’m here for you, and I love hearing from you, too! You’re the best, and you have everything you need inside of you! Please believe it! Starve your ego, feed your soul - and follow your heart!