[My comments are less refined than the main post, so take ‘em with a little extra skepticism. All the same, I think this might help.]
Sometimes people don’t want to talk, and that’s ok. But if the conversation turns into an interview when they do want to talk, a few different things could be happening.
- Some people rely too much on using closed questions. Using open questions instead can open up the conversation.
- Some people rely too much on asking questions in general. There are other types of things that we can say as the listener which may be worth usin...
That's a big question. Some notes on what worked for me:
- The thing that has helped me the most was finding a volunteer role that involves empathic listening. It gave me a lot of chances to practice. Plus, because it was a new & separate space from the rest of my life, I was more flexible to intentionally choose the habits I wanted to cultivate there before old habits got locked in. I believe doing something like that would help a lot, though it is a relatively time/effort intensive thing to do.
- If you don't have the time for something like a vo...
Ah, that's what trust is to me! That resonates strongly. I hadn't properly thought through the concept before.
The big question floating around my mind is - to what extent should I let *this* kind of trust (or lack of trust) determine who I'm close to?