Hi, I'm Dr. Kim Logan Nowlan. 00:00:01.36\00:00:02.70 I'm Arthur Nowlan 00:00:02.73\00:00:04.07 And welcome to Making It Work. 00:00:04.10\00:00:06.23 ¤ ¤ 00:00:06.27\00:00:37.37 Today on Making It Work we're going to talk about the art of 00:00:37.40\00:00:41.90 listening. How would you rate your listening skills. Do you 00:00:41.94\00:00:45.91 have effective listening or do you have poor listening skills? 00:00:45.94\00:00:49.84 What determines a great listener versus someone who cannot 00:00:49.88\00:00:55.22 listen well. Well two components Number one: Being able to convey 00:00:55.28\00:01:00.42 a message, get that response back and give them an 00:01:00.46\00:01:04.46 appropriate response to their question. A lot of times we are 00:01:04.49\00:01:09.26 not listening and therefore you get huh, what did you say, could 00:01:09.30\00:01:13.80 you repeat that and the other person says what were you doing? 00:01:13.84\00:01:18.17 I was talking right at you. Are you listening? Did you fall 00:01:18.24\00:01:22.51 asleep? So we've got to look at the content, the quality and the 00:01:22.54\00:01:26.45 art of listening. Well Arthur and I are going to demonstrate 00:01:26.48\00:01:30.29 some effective listening and not so effective listening. So we're 00:01:30.35\00:01:34.92 going to start off with some negative listening. And this is 00:01:34.96\00:01:37.36 all role play. So again, understand we're just trying 00:01:37.39\00:01:42.26 to show you some of the things that people get into and with 00:01:42.33\00:01:46.13 Arthur and I being therapists helping them to look at the way 00:01:46.20\00:01:50.01 they listen and communicate. You may ask why is it so 00:01:50.04\00:01:52.54 important to have effective listening skills and the impact 00:01:52.57\00:01:56.14 on the relationship. Arthur why is that so important in our 00:01:56.38\00:01:59.71 relationships today. 00:01:59.75\00:02:01.08 To establish good relationships we must be able to hear what the 00:02:01.12\00:02:06.45 other person is saying. If I'm able to hear what you're trying 00:02:06.52\00:02:10.99 to convey to me then I'm able to give you a positive response 00:02:11.06\00:02:15.20 or a response that is coming from me and I'm asking you what 00:02:15.23\00:02:21.74 your opinion is to my response. 00:02:21.77\00:02:24.27 So to put that in laymen's terms I want to be able to give you a 00:02:24.31\00:02:29.41 good quality answer. So when someone is communicating with 00:02:29.44\00:02:33.08 you it can become very frustrating in your relationship 00:02:33.11\00:02:36.69 within the household. Even with your children, you have to be 00:02:36.72\00:02:41.82 able to give good information and how it's received and given. 00:02:41.86\00:02:46.96 So Arthur and I want to demonstrate to you something 00:02:47.00\00:02:50.37 that what we do in our relationship seminars and 00:02:50.43\00:02:53.74 role play. We're going to demonstrate one negative impact 00:02:53.80\00:02:57.07 of poor communication, then we're going to turn around, talk 00:02:57.11\00:03:00.74 about it a little bit and then do the positive side. All right. 00:03:00.78\00:03:04.38 Are you with us. All right. Let's go. 00:03:04.41\00:03:06.38 So I've been calling you for 10 minutes. How come you didn't 00:03:06.41\00:03:10.02 answer your phone? 00:03:10.05\00:03:11.65 I did answer my phone. 00:03:11.69\00:03:13.19 You didn't answer your phone I called you 10 times. 00:03:13.25\00:03:17.53 On the 10th time I answered my phone. 00:03:17.56\00:03:19.93 You didn't call on the 9th time. I have something very important 00:03:20.00\00:03:22.30 to ask you. 00:03:22.33\00:03:23.67 When I picked up the phone you hung up. 00:03:23.70\00:03:25.77 That doesn't have anything to do with anything. I called you 00:03:25.80\00:03:28.14 nine times. I have something important to ask you. 00:03:28.17\00:03:30.07 I don't like the way you're talking to me. 00:03:30.11\00:03:31.81 Well I don't like the way that you didn't answer the phone. 00:03:31.87\00:03:34.64 I need you to listen to me. 00:03:34.68\00:03:36.01 I answered the phone. 00:03:36.04\00:03:37.38 The problem is that you don't listen to me. 00:03:37.41\00:03:38.75 The problem is... 00:03:38.78\00:03:40.45 Excuse me, I'm talking right now 00:03:40.52\00:03:41.85 I don't want to hear you talk. 00:03:41.88\00:03:43.22 See what do you mean you don't want to hear me talk? 00:03:43.25\00:03:45.12 Because you're not trying to hear what I have to say. 00:03:45.15\00:03:47.39 I have been living with this for years and years and years. You 00:03:47.42\00:03:50.36 don't want to listen to me while I'm talking. And then when I 00:03:50.43\00:03:53.33 start talking all of a sudden you want to start talking. 00:03:53.36\00:03:55.33 and you interrupt me. 00:03:55.36\00:03:56.70 Because what your saying is you're saying it out of anger 00:03:56.73\00:03:58.73 I'm not angry. Do I look angry to you? Do I sound angry to you? 00:03:58.77\00:04:01.27 You kind of act angry. 00:04:01.30\00:04:03.14 I'm not. But we're going to stop there. So what did you see? 00:04:03.17\00:04:06.88 Number one: You can't talk at the same time. Somebody has to 00:04:06.91\00:04:10.75 listen and when there are two individuals in the room, there 00:04:10.78\00:04:14.42 should be two listeners. Arthur should be listening. I'm 00:04:14.48\00:04:18.09 listening. That's all right? 00:04:18.12\00:04:19.45 I think another important point that needs to be brought out in 00:04:19.49\00:04:21.52 that exchange is the fact that body language conveys a message 00:04:21.56\00:04:26.90 as well; not just words. You have to be able to watch the 00:04:26.93\00:04:32.80 body language. Sometimes when a person is angry they demonstrate 00:04:32.83\00:04:37.54 a real aggressive body language which makes the environment even 00:04:37.61\00:04:42.28 more hostile. 00:04:42.31\00:04:43.65 So Arthur's saying there was a body language, two people trying 00:04:43.68\00:04:48.52 to talk at the same time. The tone was loud. You have anger. 00:04:48.55\00:04:53.82 Did you notice the eye contact and again that body language. 00:04:53.86\00:04:59.09 So what would you do differently? Let us show you. 00:04:59.13\00:05:03.47 Arthur, I've been trying to reach you for about the last 10 00:05:03.50\00:05:07.50 minutes or so. 00:05:07.54\00:05:10.31 I picked up the phone on the 10th call and you weren't there. 00:05:10.37\00:05:15.01 I guess you were just hanging the phone up. What I should have 00:05:15.04\00:05:19.68 done was call you back. 00:05:19.71\00:05:21.82 Okay. I'd appreciate that next time if you could call me back 00:05:21.85\00:05:24.65 because sometimes you don't pick up your phone and maybe 00:05:24.69\00:05:29.96 I'll try texting you. Maybe that will help. 00:05:29.99\00:05:31.66 Well yeah, but sometimes I'm away from my phone. I'll put it 00:05:31.69\00:05:36.10 on my desk and leave it. But when I do hear it I'll rush to 00:05:36.13\00:05:40.54 it and I tried to answer it as quickly as possible. 00:05:40.57\00:05:43.81 Well don't you want to know what I wanted. 00:05:43.84\00:05:45.37 Absolutely. 00:05:45.41\00:05:46.74 Well I needed some eggs, bread and some milk before you came 00:05:46.78\00:05:49.78 in but now you're home. 00:05:49.81\00:05:51.15 That's no problem. I can still go. 00:05:51.18\00:05:52.51 You want to go back out again? 00:05:52.55\00:05:53.95 Absolutely. 00:05:53.98\00:05:55.32 Well I appreciate that. All right. Can I add some more 00:05:55.35\00:05:57.32 things to the list. Okay great. 00:05:57.35\00:06:01.16 So right there what did you notice about body language? 00:06:01.19\00:06:06.13 What did you notice about the body language? 00:06:06.16\00:06:08.76 Well there wasn't any aggression demonstrated. It was more of a 00:06:08.80\00:06:13.40 calm atmosphere. 00:06:13.44\00:06:14.77 All right. That means I wasn't on the defensive and you weren't 00:06:14.80\00:06:17.44 on the defense. 00:06:17.47\00:06:18.81 So I mean we were able to communicate. We made progress. 00:06:18.84\00:06:21.98 And you were able to hear me and I was able to hear you. 00:06:22.04\00:06:25.51 And the solution was I needed you to do what? 00:06:25.55\00:06:28.28 You needed me to go to the store for you. 00:06:28.32\00:06:31.02 Okay. So therefore my message was conveyed and he was able to 00:06:31.05\00:06:35.82 follow through. Now let me ask a question. How many times during 00:06:35.86\00:06:40.60 the week do you and your family members or if you're a single 00:06:40.63\00:06:45.00 person sit down and just write down some short term goals to 00:06:45.03\00:06:49.37 improve your communication skills. And let's talk about 00:06:49.40\00:06:53.78 those who are single Arthur. Do they communicate with people 00:06:53.81\00:06:56.88 on the job? 00:06:56.91\00:06:58.25 Absolutely. But the first step even before you write down the 00:06:58.28\00:07:03.92 goals is to recognize that you have a problem in your 00:07:03.95\00:07:09.42 communication with others. Sometimes when people will bring 00:07:09.49\00:07:13.80 that to our attention and we will still ignore that, Kim. 00:07:13.83\00:07:18.10 So after I admit that there is a concern, then I want to change 00:07:18.13\00:07:23.24 and try to improve the relationship and try to improve 00:07:23.27\00:07:26.91 my communication skills. Then I will start writing. How would 00:07:26.98\00:07:31.75 I do this? What is necessary for me to be a good listener or a 00:07:31.78\00:07:36.55 good communicator. 00:07:36.58\00:07:37.92 What is so difficult... and we counsel couples all the time. 00:07:37.95\00:07:42.82 What do you notice is the biggest challenge in 00:07:42.86\00:07:45.66 relationships when it comes to communication? Is it listening 00:07:45.69\00:07:50.73 or is it something else? 00:07:50.77\00:07:52.10 Well I think after a period of time sometimes we take people 00:07:52.13\00:07:57.01 for granted and we try to listen but our minds may drift off and 00:07:57.07\00:08:02.08 the next thing you know you don't hold whatever that person 00:08:02.11\00:08:06.38 is trying to convey to you as being important. And sometimes 00:08:06.41\00:08:10.65 that will lead us to just totally not pay attention and 00:08:10.69\00:08:16.22 doing something else or being distracted. So those are some 00:08:16.26\00:08:20.46 of the things that would prevent us from developing good 00:08:20.50\00:08:24.63 listening skills. 00:08:24.67\00:08:26.80 You really want something done for you around your home by your 00:08:26.84\00:08:30.27 spouse or your children? Let me give you some simple words that 00:08:30.31\00:08:34.64 will help you. Thank you. You're welcome, please, that was so 00:08:34.68\00:08:39.01 nice of you. People really enjoy getting accolades. 00:08:39.05\00:08:44.55 Another tool. Please if your doing this at the dinner table, 00:08:44.59\00:08:50.56 texting, or your cell phone, reading a newspaper. Put it 00:08:50.63\00:08:56.70 away and begin to communicate. We started a new, not a rule, 00:08:56.77\00:09:01.60 but I asked Arthur when we go out to dinner, can we put the 00:09:01.64\00:09:06.37 cell phones away. Can we just have our opportunity to wind 00:09:06.41\00:09:10.31 down and just talk to each other. How do you like that? 00:09:10.35\00:09:14.85 Well I think it works well but I think the cell phone is 00:09:14.88\00:09:18.32 probably more of a problem with you than it is with me, Kim. 00:09:18.35\00:09:21.76 You think so? Absolutely. You know I'm working on it to 00:09:21.79\00:09:25.36 make sure that when people are calling... Right now we've been 00:09:25.39\00:09:29.16 going through something with our business so we get a lot of 00:09:29.20\00:09:32.97 phone calls to my cell phone. But I try to just put it down. 00:09:33.00\00:09:37.04 Today we were out. I put it down. Because you need to just 00:09:37.07\00:09:41.04 take it down a notch and be able to unwind and hear what's going 00:09:41.11\00:09:46.18 on in the dynamics of your household. 00:09:46.21\00:09:48.75 Absolutely. Not only at the, within the household 00:09:48.78\00:09:54.09 I'm sorry to interrupt you and I'm sorry, that's another pet 00:09:54.12\00:09:57.09 peeve of mine but why do you say the cell phone is more 00:09:57.13\00:09:59.89 challenging for me? 00:09:59.93\00:10:01.26 Because I think that you're on it probably more. I think you're 00:10:01.30\00:10:06.94 more of a communicator as far as talking to people and the 00:10:06.97\00:10:10.94 excitement that you demonstrate when you talk to people. You 00:10:10.97\00:10:16.08 like to really, really get really engaged when you talk to 00:10:16.11\00:10:21.18 a lot of people. 00:10:21.22\00:10:22.55 Well yeah because people are calling for information, they 00:10:22.58\00:10:25.79 want to set appointments. Okay can you imagine you calling me 00:10:25.82\00:10:29.12 for an appointment, (dull voice) Hello, Dr. Logan, can I help 00:10:29.16\00:10:32.66 you. It would be like click. This lady does not want to be 00:10:32.69\00:10:36.23 bothered. So what I do I say Good afternoon, thank you for 00:10:36.26\00:10:39.73 calling, Dr. Logan speaking, how may I help you. (animated voice) 00:10:39.77\00:10:42.64 Now wouldn't that make you want to say now I know this lady 00:10:42.67\00:10:46.37 really wants to help me. 00:10:46.41\00:10:47.74 But I'm not just talking about clients, Kim. I'm talking about 00:10:47.78\00:10:51.51 with just people in general. You get excited. 00:10:51.55\00:10:56.18 I am an excitable person... 00:10:56.22\00:11:00.26 You just interrupted me Kim. 00:11:00.29\00:11:04.26 I'm sorry. Was what you were saying was going to be 00:11:04.33\00:11:05.66 important. 00:11:05.69\00:11:07.03 Absolutely. Okay go ahead. 00:11:07.06\00:11:08.40 I mean, that's what I thought. So you know you really need to 00:11:08.43\00:11:11.80 write down what would improve your listening skills when I'm 00:11:11.83\00:11:16.54 talking to you. 00:11:16.57\00:11:17.91 Okay I'm going to tell you what could improve my listening 00:11:17.94\00:11:21.18 skills. Prayer, I need to pray more. I'm learning to pray more 00:11:21.21\00:11:25.68 before I speak. I'm learning to really take in my environment 00:11:25.71\00:11:31.12 before I respond. Make sure I respond effectively so I'm not 00:11:31.15\00:11:35.02 redundant. How do you feel about it when people are redundant? 00:11:35.09\00:11:38.93 They say the same thing over and over again. 00:11:38.96\00:11:42.00 I know when you get excited that happens a lot... not 00:11:42.03\00:11:48.27 just you per se but people when they get excited and are trying 00:11:48.30\00:11:52.67 to convey a message. Sometimes they do say the same thing over 00:11:52.71\00:11:58.18 and over again which could be a challenge for someone who's 00:11:58.21\00:12:02.92 just trying to listen and find what point that they're trying 00:12:02.95\00:12:07.62 to make. But in many cases that's where the breakdown in 00:12:07.66\00:12:12.89 communication comes. 00:12:12.93\00:12:14.26 That's where it is. 00:12:14.30\00:12:15.63 Then when we're talking about listening skills and the 00:12:15.66\00:12:19.90 communication aspect within a relationship. If I'm not able to 00:12:19.93\00:12:24.54 communicate with you, Kim, then I may get to the point where I'm 00:12:24.57\00:12:29.14 looking for somebody else to communicate with. 00:12:29.18\00:12:31.11 And that's the danger zone. 00:12:31.15\00:12:32.48 Especially if it's at work. I'm talking to somebody at work 00:12:32.51\00:12:36.99 and it may not start in the direction where I'm providing 00:12:37.05\00:12:41.39 them with any type information personally but the more I get 00:12:41.42\00:12:44.73 comfortable talking with somebody else because I can't 00:12:44.79\00:12:48.00 talk with you in the home then the next thing you know that 00:12:48.06\00:12:52.13 can lead to all types of negativity with a relationship. 00:12:52.20\00:12:56.37 How many times have we heard well I just wanted to have a 00:12:56.40\00:13:00.18 conversation with someone and the next thing you know you're 00:13:00.24\00:13:03.75 involved with that person intimately. And it all started 00:13:03.78\00:13:07.62 with a friendly hello, a listening ear, tell me about 00:13:07.65\00:13:11.45 your problems. Don't tell them about your problems. Find a way 00:13:11.49\00:13:16.39 to communicate with your spouse, talk to God, talk to your pastor 00:13:16.42\00:13:21.33 talk to someone who's going to really be there to give you 00:13:21.36\00:13:24.53 sound good Christian advice. 00:13:24.57\00:13:26.60 If you get to a point where you want to share information you 00:13:26.63\00:13:30.84 have to have a lot of trust in the person that receiving that 00:13:30.87\00:13:35.01 information. Oh no doubt. 00:13:35.04\00:13:36.38 So I really think that you can find a counselor but it has to 00:13:36.41\00:13:42.02 be with somebody that you totally trust and that you have 00:13:42.08\00:13:46.89 built a relationship with over the years. It's not just 00:13:46.96\00:13:51.69 somebody that you meet in a few months and you think you know 00:13:51.73\00:13:55.33 them and then you start sharing personal information. A lot of 00:13:55.36\00:13:58.90 times that can turn out to be a negative situation. 00:13:58.93\00:14:01.87 I received the nicest compliment from a new patient and she had 00:14:01.90\00:14:06.01 gone to two other therapists. I was just listening and not 00:14:06.04\00:14:10.08 a red flag and I asked her what brought you to me and she told 00:14:10.11\00:14:14.02 me why. But at the end of the session what she really enjoyed 00:14:14.05\00:14:18.95 was the engaging. I was engaging with her. She said the other two 00:14:18.99\00:14:23.32 doctors never said a word during the whole session. They allowed 00:14:23.36\00:14:27.66 her to speak and they never asked her a question, they 00:14:27.70\00:14:30.70 never engaged. And there are different techniques, people 00:14:30.73\00:14:33.03 will have different techniques, different therapists, 00:14:33.07\00:14:35.30 psychiatrists, psychologists, but she was looking for someone 00:14:35.37\00:14:39.57 to engage with her, ask her questions, pull some things out 00:14:39.61\00:14:43.41 of her because she didn't know how to address some issues in 00:14:43.45\00:14:47.22 her life. 00:14:47.25\00:14:48.58 Well I think that might have happened that way but sometimes 00:14:48.62\00:14:51.59 I think we become a little anxious in having somebody 00:14:51.62\00:14:55.69 provide us with a solution. 00:14:55.96\00:14:57.59 I don't think she was looking for a solution. She was looking 00:14:57.63\00:15:00.80 for someone to help her understand what she was 00:15:00.83\00:15:04.17 going through. And I'm not saying that's not a sense of a 00:15:04.23\00:15:07.60 solution. There are times though I have patients when I 00:15:07.64\00:15:11.61 just listen. Matter of fact, remember I told you about this 00:15:11.64\00:15:15.91 one particular person, a patient and she said at the end of the 00:15:15.94\00:15:20.98 session, Dr. Logan, I need you just to listen. I was outdone. 00:15:21.02\00:15:26.05 I understand. 00:15:26.09\00:15:27.42 And she said... What'd you mean by that? Are you going 00:15:27.46\00:15:31.83 somewhere with that? 00:15:31.86\00:15:33.19 I understand Kim because you know that could be a problem 00:15:33.23\00:15:35.16 with you sometimes. 00:15:35.20\00:15:36.53 It's not a problem for me. It's part of being a good therapist. 00:15:36.56\00:15:39.60 You have to be able to communicate and listen. 00:15:39.63\00:15:42.10 I'm talking about not on the job... 00:15:42.14\00:15:44.41 but off the job. 00:15:44.44\00:15:45.77 Absolutely. 00:15:45.81\00:15:47.14 Okay so tell me what you feel is one of the most challenging 00:15:47.18\00:15:51.15 issues of the art of listening with me. 00:15:51.18\00:15:53.48 Silence. 00:15:53.52\00:15:54.85 What you mean, you need me to be silent? 00:15:54.88\00:15:56.62 Sometimes. 00:15:56.65\00:15:57.99 Wait a minute, one time we were driving all the way, we were 00:15:58.02\00:16:02.29 going to Georgia, going to Atlanta. And I was talking to 00:16:02.32\00:16:07.10 Arthur and I said Arthur you are not responding to me, Arthur 00:16:07.13\00:16:11.63 do you hear me. Arthur say something. He said, Kim, I've 00:16:11.67\00:16:14.74 been listening to you since we left Detroit and that was nine 00:16:14.77\00:16:18.67 hours ago. And it was like Oh that hurt my feelings. You know 00:16:18.74\00:16:22.38 he said but you've been talking and talking and I'm thinking I'm 00:16:22.44\00:16:26.05 just keeping him awake and keeping the engaging going but 00:16:26.08\00:16:29.38 it was no engaging. I was doing all the talking. He hurt my 00:16:29.42\00:16:32.65 feelings that time. 00:16:32.69\00:16:34.02 And you didn't even realize that you were doing all the talking. 00:16:34.06\00:16:36.26 I didn't realize I talked for nine hours. 00:16:36.29\00:16:38.36 I know and that's a problem. 00:16:38.39\00:16:40.06 You try to talk nine hours without any interruption. 00:16:40.10\00:16:44.37 I'm saying, it's a problem. Do you understand the turmoil 00:16:44.43\00:16:50.51 that I was going through. 00:16:50.54\00:16:51.87 I don't know because I thought I was really sharing a lot of 00:16:51.91\00:16:54.48 things. I was going through a lot of different dynamics. I was 00:16:54.51\00:16:57.55 talking about magazine articles, I was talking about our books, 00:16:57.58\00:17:00.58 I was talking about the children 00:17:00.62\00:17:01.95 It wasn't really turmoil because I mean even though I may not 00:17:01.98\00:17:06.29 have engaged as much as you wanted me to it was really 00:17:06.32\00:17:11.03 productive because some real productivity came out of it. 00:17:11.06\00:17:15.70 It did and I was able to capture you. I can never get you to just 00:17:15.73\00:17:20.10 sit down. Arthur's a golfer and he's very, very busy with his 00:17:20.14\00:17:22.80 programs and different things. So I got him in that car and 00:17:22.84\00:17:28.38 I knew I had him for nine hours. 00:17:28.41\00:17:29.78 You know but those are things that we used to do quite a bit 00:17:30.05\00:17:34.75 but I think what had interrupted that type of engaging is the 00:17:34.78\00:17:39.45 technology that's out here right now. 00:17:39.49\00:17:42.89 Oh yes. 00:17:42.92\00:17:44.26 You know technology can be positive and negative. It can be 00:17:44.29\00:17:48.56 distracting. I think what has happened with many of us is that 00:17:48.60\00:17:53.64 texting and the cell phone could be very detrimental in 00:17:53.67\00:17:58.17 relationships. And what has happened with some of the 00:17:58.21\00:18:02.64 clients that have come into our offices, they really have a 00:18:02.68\00:18:06.75 difficult time in dealing with their spouse who is constantly 00:18:06.78\00:18:10.82 texting on the telephone. 00:18:10.85\00:18:12.19 Oh definitely. And a lot of them have lost the ability to do oral 00:18:12.22\00:18:15.19 communication because they text their message or they'll I 00:18:15.22\00:18:18.89 texted you today. And I have to always ask our couples, did 00:18:18.93\00:18:22.66 you talk to each other. Yes we text, that's what they say. 00:18:22.73\00:18:27.00 I say no, did you pick up the phone, did you call them, did 00:18:27.04\00:18:31.27 you say anything to them face to face verbally. No, no Dr. Nowlan 00:18:31.31\00:18:36.81 we text. 00:18:36.85\00:18:38.18 But let me add another component to that. What I've also realized 00:18:38.21\00:18:43.72 in experimenting with certain things with our couples is that 00:18:43.75\00:18:49.49 sometimes when it's difficult to talk orally what happens is they 00:18:49.52\00:18:54.83 need to come up with a different tool to communicate. So what 00:18:54.86\00:18:59.77 I've done is recognize that e- mailing each other what their 00:18:59.80\00:19:04.67 concerns are as a form of communication is not bad. It 00:19:04.71\00:19:09.74 can help when it's like if I talk to you I anticipate that 00:19:09.78\00:19:12.81 we're going to be hollering and screaming at each other. Or 00:19:12.85\00:19:17.09 sometimes I may have to text you just to let you know I got the 00:19:17.12\00:19:21.72 message that you were trying to deliver to me but unfortunately 00:19:21.76\00:19:25.89 you were not able to listen to me. So you can use it in a 00:19:25.93\00:19:31.33 productive way but it's working on our communication, not when 00:19:31.40\00:19:36.87 you're just texting or e-mailing or communicating with everybody 00:19:36.91\00:19:42.38 else and you're not communicating with me. 00:19:42.41\00:19:43.75 That's a void. 00:19:43.78\00:19:45.11 That is a void. And another thing I want to touch on is when 00:19:45.15\00:19:48.48 you're communicating you can't watch television and communicate 00:19:48.52\00:19:53.19 at the same time. 00:19:53.22\00:19:54.56 You mean I can't watch the playoffs. 00:19:54.59\00:19:57.46 No but let me say this ladies, pick your battles. Do not try 00:19:57.49\00:20:02.16 to talk to your husband during the super bowl or March Madness 00:20:02.20\00:20:06.17 or you know the playoffs. You didn't know I knew all that did 00:20:06.20\00:20:10.17 you? Wasn't that pretty good? 00:20:10.21\00:20:13.07 You remember what I taught you. 00:20:13.11\00:20:15.88 I have learned to pick my battles and I have to wait. 00:20:15.94\00:20:18.75 Now Arthur he plays golf, he dozes off about 9:30, 10 o'clock 00:20:18.78\00:20:24.22 It's over. You know we're still here in the studio. So I'm 00:20:24.25\00:20:28.62 saying that if I'm going to talk to Arthur it has to be in the 00:20:28.66\00:20:32.79 morning. 00:20:32.83\00:20:34.16 All right, I've got to catch him in the morning because that's 00:20:34.20\00:20:36.46 the best time because he is a person that likes to communicate 00:20:36.50\00:20:40.40 in the morning. How many times have you said to me, Kim, I'm 00:20:40.44\00:20:44.74 on my down, I'm going down. Do not talk to me right now. And he 00:20:44.77\00:20:49.01 says it very nicely. Some times I'll go in with a burst of 00:20:49.04\00:20:51.41 energy and he'll just look at me like you know you're about 00:20:51.45\00:20:56.25 to go. So you know I can go for two or three hours so that he 00:20:56.65\00:21:01.29 says not right now Kim. And I'm like man I've got so much to say 00:21:01.32\00:21:05.96 I want to say it now. I'm a night bird, he's morning. So we 00:21:05.99\00:21:10.27 have to find our balance. Yeah. We are, we're opposites but we 00:21:10.33\00:21:15.04 find our balance. So what I have to do is catch him before he 00:21:15.07\00:21:20.38 goes, talk with him. And I've got another way. I call you and 00:21:20.41\00:21:25.71 we talk on the phone. 00:21:25.75\00:21:27.08 That's good and that works. 00:21:27.12\00:21:28.95 And it works for us. 00:21:28.98\00:21:30.32 Especially when we're trying to deal with some really 00:21:30.35\00:21:33.86 important business and we need each other to understand how 00:21:33.89\00:21:39.59 we're going to progress in this particular area. 00:21:39.63\00:21:42.20 Right. I put double sinks in our bathroom so we can be in the 00:21:42.26\00:21:45.77 bathroom at the same time and we're talking and we're 00:21:45.80\00:21:48.37 communicating. 00:21:48.40\00:21:49.74 But you know that never sat well with me. 00:21:49.77\00:21:51.11 You don't like the double sinks? Not really. 00:21:51.14\00:21:52.47 I asked you about the double sinks. 00:21:52.51\00:21:53.84 Yeah, but I was just trying to... 00:21:53.88\00:21:55.74 Accommodate me? 00:21:55.78\00:21:57.11 Yeah because I knew it was something that was important. 00:21:57.15\00:21:59.65 Don't you just love... 00:21:59.68\00:22:01.02 Have you noticed Kim, I'm not really in there when you're in 00:22:01.05\00:22:03.72 there. Oh I was in there when you were 00:22:03.75\00:22:05.52 in there. 00:22:05.55\00:22:06.89 Yeah, that is true. You know I come in there when you're in 00:22:06.92\00:22:12.46 there. Because I got to captivate you, I got to get 00:22:12.49\00:22:14.30 you and talk to you. 00:22:14.33\00:22:15.66 Yeah, as soon as you come in I'm leaving. 00:22:15.70\00:22:17.47 You are leaving. I noticed that. 00:22:17.50\00:22:19.23 You know it's not to say that I don't enjoy spending time with 00:22:19.27\00:22:23.84 you. That's another part of the listening. I think what really 00:22:23.87\00:22:28.38 stands out even more is the fact that if it's enjoyable 00:22:28.41\00:22:33.72 conversation time shoots by. It does. And it's really fun. 00:22:33.78\00:22:37.95 It's fun to communicate with somebody that you really care 00:22:37.99\00:22:42.16 about. And when the communication stops 00:22:42.19\00:22:44.66 that's an issue, that's a problem in the relationship. 00:22:44.69\00:22:47.60 And I think that's what really motivates a lot of people to 00:22:47.63\00:22:53.67 us is the fact that their communication has come to a 00:22:53.70\00:22:58.47 standstill. 00:22:58.51\00:22:59.84 It has, it has. You know when we were on our honeymoon and you 00:22:59.87\00:23:04.18 read to me. Absolutely. And you read me stories and I laid in 00:23:04.21\00:23:07.85 your lap. It was beautiful and I listened to those stories. 00:23:07.88\00:23:12.19 It was the first time hearing you read stories to me. I wasn't 00:23:12.22\00:23:14.86 that in tune to story telling even though that was part of my 00:23:14.89\00:23:19.39 dissertation. But it was so beautiful and I listened and I 00:23:19.53\00:23:24.10 learned so much from those stories. But you haven't done it 00:23:24.17\00:23:28.70 since. Yes I have. I read stories that 00:23:28.74\00:23:31.34 I've written myself. 00:23:31.37\00:23:32.71 I know, yes you have but not exactly the same. 00:23:32.74\00:23:36.24 Do you know just what happened here? 00:23:36.28\00:23:37.88 What is that? 00:23:37.91\00:23:39.25 I told you I read you stories that I've written... 00:23:39.28\00:23:44.55 I just overlooked it. 00:23:44.59\00:23:45.92 and you just overlooked that. I'm sorry. 00:23:45.95\00:23:47.36 Is that something that you may need to work on, Kim? 00:23:47.42\00:23:50.93 I think so. 00:23:50.99\00:23:52.33 I think I can help you with that 00:23:52.36\00:23:53.70 Okay, say it to me again. Say Kim I read you my stories. 00:23:53.73\00:23:56.56 Any time that you feel that... 00:23:56.60\00:23:58.33 No, no go back and say that I've read to you my stories. 00:23:58.40\00:24:01.74 Do I have to say it the way you want me to say it, or can I say 00:24:01.77\00:24:05.27 it the way I want to say it. 00:24:05.34\00:24:06.68 Say it the way you want to say it. 00:24:06.71\00:24:09.24 See that's another... (laughter) 00:24:09.28\00:24:11.71 You now because I want things my way, I do. 00:24:11.75\00:24:15.65 Yes you do. 00:24:15.68\00:24:17.02 I'm spoiled. You spoiled me. 00:24:17.05\00:24:18.42 Not only that I think your dad spoiled you and your mom spoiled 00:24:18.45\00:24:22.82 you. I'm mean I'm thinking about a process. Let's go back to this 00:24:22.86\00:24:27.16 listening aspect. If you had problems listening in your 00:24:27.20\00:24:32.57 family of origin that's an issue that you carried on for a long 00:24:32.63\00:24:36.84 period of time. So even when you get involved in a relationship, 00:24:36.91\00:24:41.01 there may be some issues as far as your communication skills 00:24:41.04\00:24:45.55 you need to improve and sometimes it takes time for both 00:24:45.58\00:24:49.98 parties to really recognize, I need improvement in this area. 00:24:50.02\00:24:53.92 So one of the things we also have to recognize is the fact 00:24:53.96\00:24:58.39 that we are attracted to each other for many, many reasons. 00:24:58.43\00:25:02.96 And sometimes in my attraction to you I may overlook other 00:25:03.00\00:25:08.07 areas and so those other areas may be really, really something 00:25:08.10\00:25:12.94 that I need to address and that really stand out but because of 00:25:12.97\00:25:18.31 my infatuation with you I may feel that us being together, you 00:25:18.35\00:25:23.65 will change eventually. 00:25:23.69\00:25:25.02 Or I'll change you. 00:25:25.05\00:25:26.86 And that's sometimes very devastating to the individual. 00:25:26.89\00:25:31.13 Yes and the listening is still not improved because we still 00:25:31.16\00:25:35.16 have the same issues. 00:25:35.20\00:25:36.53 When we see couples hollering and screaming in the therapy 00:25:36.83\00:25:40.44 session and no one is listening and there's nothing getting 00:25:40.47\00:25:43.51 resolved because you're not listening to me and I'm not 00:25:43.54\00:25:46.51 listening to you. I want to be heard. I want to out talk you 00:25:46.54\00:25:50.35 and so therefore, we're back to square one and I don't want to 00:25:50.38\00:25:54.15 counseling because it's not doing any good. Well the 00:25:54.18\00:25:56.28 counseling is not going to do any good unless you implement 00:25:56.32\00:25:59.19 the tools of listening. 00:25:59.25\00:26:00.69 Set up goals. That's one of the most important things. How 00:26:00.72\00:26:05.36 can I listen. Now I want to talk to our audience and let them 00:26:05.39\00:26:09.76 know, there's a simple process that's involved that can help 00:26:09.80\00:26:14.10 you as far as improving you listening skills and that 00:26:14.14\00:26:16.77 process is take a three-minute or five-minute time and allow 00:26:16.81\00:26:23.14 the person that's trying to convey a message, give them 00:26:23.18\00:26:26.41 three uninterrupted minutes to voice their opinion and then you 00:26:26.45\00:26:32.35 take three uninterrupted minutes to give feedback or voice your 00:26:32.39\00:26:37.89 opinion. If you use that time frame it really is a training 00:26:37.93\00:26:42.03 mechanism to help you to learn how to listen to each other in a 00:26:42.06\00:26:46.13 productive manner. 00:26:46.17\00:26:47.50 That's an excellent idea. You know we use that also. 00:26:47.80\00:26:51.04 Absolutely. Well you know, my goodness 00:26:51.07\00:26:52.97 Arthur. The time is already gone 00:26:53.01\00:26:55.31 It's amazing. I can't believe it 00:26:55.34\00:26:57.58 I can't either. 00:26:57.61\00:26:58.95 And you were listening to me all the time. 00:26:58.98\00:27:00.32 And I was. Well listen, we want to thank you and we hope some 00:27:00.35\00:27:03.52 of the things we've shared with you and what you saw today 00:27:03.59\00:27:06.76 on Making It Work will help you in the art of listening. I'm Dr. 00:27:06.79\00:27:10.33 Kim Logan Nowlan. I'm Arthur Nowlan. 00:27:10.36\00:27:12.39 God bless, God bless. 00:27:12.46\00:27:13.86