Listening is a skill I hadn’t yet associated with fears. This is interesting, as the fears described by Erik de Haan in his article “Fearless Listening” all resonated.

It says something about the way I overestimated speaking. And yet, much of what de Haan says about the value and the art of listening matches the way I seek to listen and work on listening.

And I’m in good company. In today’s society, and many past cultures, it is speaking that is considered as creating momentum, leading to followers, and considered as communication.

And, in a way, it is logical. We’ll acknowledge the wise man and appreciate him for his sayings. Or, should I say, the quotes he gives us to flood social networks with?

What we may forget, is that the wise man is wise because he knows when to speak. It’s always after having listened enough.

Listening is invisible to most of us and often achieves its aim when someone transforms the listening into words that can be shared.

A reason to highlight speaking might very well be because listening does involve fears. Fears that will be overcome by speaking or by becoming silent and unable to continue listening.

It is easier to give advice than to continue listening to a problem one might not understand. It is easier to argue than to listen to arguments that may shift one’s position. It is easier to judge than to continue to listen while being uncertain of one’s position in the conversation. It is easier to speak than to remain silent and possibly find oneself undervalued.