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I have identified a skill that most all of us need to practice.


plansrme
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I'll be developing workshops on The Art of Listening to Someone Who Disagrees With You.

 

After working on our listening, we'll move on to advanced topics such as How to Consider That, Possibly, the Person Who Disagrees With You Just Might be a Teeny, Tiny Little Bit Right.

 

The top ten percent of graduates of HTCTPTPWDWYJMBATTLBR will be invited to participate in, "The Person Who Disagrees With You is Not Necessarily a Shrew Just Because She  Disagrees With You."

 

Breakout sessions will be available on, "If we disagree, the most useful response is not, 'My Way or the  Highway,'" and my personal favorite, "The fact that only one person approaches you with a concern does not mean that she is the only one in your school, on your team or in your office who thinks like she does."  

 

Festivities will be capped of with a roundtable discussion, "The fact that I disagree with you does not mean that I think you are incompetent, immoral or going to hell; neither does it mean that we can not work, play or worship together."

 

Feel free to suggest other seminar topics.  I'm trying to decide whether, "My making a different choice than you is not a criticism of your different choice" fits under the umbrella or gets its own seminar.  I'm leaning towards "same umbrella," on the grounds that such a mindset is a big part of the reason that people can't deal with what they perceive as criticism but is really just, "This is something upon which reasonable minds may differ, and I do."

 

The culprit today is travel baseball.  Aggravating factor:  that I am a mom and dared ask a question of a MAN about baseball.  I should probably be shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How about:

 

Just because I said, "no, I can't do xyz for you" doesn't mean that I am really saying "I'm on a power trip" nor does it mean "I want to personally ruin your day".  (I work in pharmacy and can't always do what the customer thinks I can do......you know, due to silly ole laws or the capability of my computer system.)

 

 

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LOL!  Wow, I usually don't observe this kind of fuss in person.  Just online (a lot).  ;)  Where I live, you generally take the hint when someone walks to the far end of the room without explanation.  :P

 

I agree with all, except the tiny bit right part.  Because that doesn't matter, does it?  People should be OK with disagreement even if there is no chance of ever seeing the other side as right.  Generally people don't change their minds during discussions, but later, when they've forgotten the argument and now believe this is their own original idea.  :)

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Feel free to suggest other seminar topics.  I'm trying to decide whether, "My making a different choice than you is not a criticism of your different choice" fits under the umbrella or gets its own seminar.  I'm leaning towards "same umbrella," on the grounds that such a mindset is a big part of the reason that people can't deal with what they perceive as criticism but is really just, "This is something upon which reasonable minds may differ, and I do."

 

The culprit today is travel baseball.  Aggravating factor:  that I am a mom and dared ask a question of a MAN about baseball.  I should probably be shot.

 

You might find the certain webcasts on this subject helpful. Two that were beneficial to me were entitled, "My not agreeing with your reasons should not be mistaken as an invitation to reiterate your reasons in 20 different ways," and "If you think I am looking directly at you with a polite smile, and yet can't seem to shake the idea I'm staring right past you, consider shutting up."

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I just had a nice conversation, albeit brief, with a man at the gas station about baseball. I know nothing. Evidently it's the playoffs. I'm following Ebola. What do I know! And I love in "Cardinal nation," but he was most gracious. Lol.

 

My mom OTOH would have been horrified at my ignorance. Lol.

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Maybe a little work on the difference between someone 'not agreeing' with you vs someone 'not understanding' what you said. Perhaps you could make a flow chart to help people recognize when someone who really was listening simply disagrees.

 

Oh yes!  Perhaps this could be covered in the opening address.  Isn't it the height of conceit to think that if you just understood me, you would agree with me?

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