are you listening?

i am predominantly a listener rather than a storyteller.  in a conversation i am usually the one who is listening and asking follow-up questions about the kwento of the other person.  sometimes i just feel that it is my responsibility to ask questions even if i’m not really that interested in the kwento.  i feel that i owe it to the person.  i want to let him/her feel that i am listening to whatever it is that he/she is saying.  even if i am not interested the least that i can do is to listen.  i was supposed to add the adverb genuinely but to listen genuinely would require being interested in whatever the topic is so listen na lang without any adverb. haha. 

anyhoo, our prof in innovation was telling us last night that one way to know if a person you are talking to is really listening is through what he does after you talk.  if after making chika to the max the other person responds with his own story then that person did not bother to listen to you at all.  during the entire time that you were talking, he was thinking of his own story.  how rude is that!  

i have actually observed this among people and it’s true.  since i am usually a listener, i really hate it when during the few times that i care to share the person i am talking to is so used with being the speaker that he wouldn’t pay attention to my stories.  harsh! (harsh - is an expression i normally use.  )