We heard Alexis complain to her colleague about her difficult work week. She mentioned Jonas kept bothering her. Put yourself in her colleague's situation and consider the following:

• If Alexis had been talking to you, how would you have responded if Jonas was your respected friend and confidant?
• Would an interruption be justifiable? Why or why not?
• How does context affect an active listener's response?

REFLECTION:

Describe a time when you struggled to listen.

• What was the situation?
• What made it difficult?
• How did you discover you weren't actively listening?
• What was the result?
• What did you learn from the experience?