Myth: Effective Communication

What is a conversation without an open mind? There are several different types of people in the world in terms of how they communicate, and more specifically, how they listen. Individuals can have more than one way in which they listen to others. First off, there is pseudo listening. This type of listening can be seen when one person is talking about something that the listener either does not care about or does not agree with. So they nod, say something agreeable, and smile. This happens more than one may think. Empathetic listening is when we try to understand where the speaker is coming from. If we are listening empathetically, we will try to put ourselves in the speakers shoes and try to connect with them on an emotional level. This form of listening happens less than you may think. The most dangerous form of listening is called bias listening. In this form of listening, we the listener simply put up an emotional wall, turn the speaker on mute, and think about what we will say when that person finally shut their mouths. We do this because there is already a predetermined judgment on the message or the speaker themselves. Unfortunately, this happens everyday and it has been happening more frequently in the past sixteen months or so. This increase in bias listening can be seen in abundance in the 2016 Presidential Election. Our country has never been more divided as it is today since the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. This divide has caused a biased separation between Democrats and Republicans that in effect has cut off effective communication between the two groups all together. In 2016 the Pew Research Center conducted a study that revealed “more than half of Democrats (55%) say the Republican Party makes them “afraid,” while 49% of Republicans say the same about the Democratic Party. Among those highly engaged in politics – those who say they vote regularly and either volunteer for or donate to campaigns – fully 70% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans say they are afraid of the other party.’. (Pew Research Center, 2016). This is a troubling revelation to say the least. Without efficient communication between opposing idealogical sides, our future is doomed. A lack of progressive communication where opposing sides can hear points of views from the primary source can lead to bias, hasty generalizations and stereotypes, scapegoating, and misinformed and often times hurtful myths. A conversation without an open mind are individuals rambling on about an essentially pointless subject. This is how myths have started about homosexuality. The topic of homosexuality almost has an unlimited amount of myths to choose from, but the mot insulting and alienating will be the main focus for the portion of my blog.