Listening to a Kid’s Life

And 7 Keys to Active Listening for Everyone

Every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time, I have a 30-minute FaceTime conversation with my grandson. He is eight-years-old and lives in Oregon. I am 74-years-old and live in Rhode Island.

We have one thing in common: we don’t always feel that people listen to us. We suspect our ages work against us.

But, maybe we are not alone. It would appear that our’s is not a listening culture. We have all of those cable shows where talking heads interrupt each other and polarization over politics among families and friends.

What is more important is when you are talking to family members, friends, or colleagues about something that matters in your life, they are likely to be less focused on listening, really listening, and more concentrated on the advice they are about to give you or on shifting the conversation to their own story.

We all do it. But, how do we undo it?

For 10 years I had cared for my wife who was gradually succumbing to Alzheimer’s Disease. In early 2020 she was admitted to Assisted Living.

Suddenly, I was alone. And the coronavirus made the isolation even more intense. I read books and blogs that extolled the benefits of being alone. In the end, I just needed time, like a few months, to get used to my own company, but there was no substitute for those after-dinner conversations with her over a glass of wine.