I love hanging out with friends, but sometimes I feel they don’t listen to a word I say.

It’s as if my voice doesn’t register to their fine-tuned ears. I could yell, “Help, I am having a heart attack,” and they wouldn’t even flinch. One could imagine how it would feel if I actually wanted to talk to them about something important.

Not only is it in small groups that people have trouble listening, but it also happens in classes all the time. I don’t know how many classes I have had throughout my education where half the students zone out and reply in an imprudent “What?” when called upon to answer a question. I have been one of those students, probably more than I would like.

I don’t know whether to blame technology that is so fascinating and advanced that it makes face-to-face communication dull and drab, or if people have just stopped caring. Either way, listening has become a dying art. It makes me sad to think that the only way I could get advice on a problem is to post it to Facebook or Twitter. I miss the days where you had to leave your house to find out that your best friend got engaged or that the person you are least fond of went on a date with the guy you have liked for the past year.

The act of truly listening takes three steps. First is to actually listen to the person you are talking to. Second is to think. Thinking is something people do all the time, some more than others. You need to think about what the person told you and exactly how you are going to respond. Third is respond to and tell them what you thought about what the person said. That person, hopefully, will then repeat the process back and result in an intellectual and meaningful conversation.

If someone were to ask you, “Who is your favorite director?” it would be easiest to say Quentin Tarantino and that you don’t know why you like him, you just do. There is a reason why you like him more than other directors, you just don’t want to think of that reason. Sadly, that gives nothing for the other person in the conversation to go off of, so they could say “cool.” And then the conversation is dead. All that is gained is that your favorite director happens to be Quentin Tarantino. There is no passion in that. There should be passion in everything you say or do. Liking something is a small form of passion. When people talk with passion, even if the conversation is as common as longboarding, it makes the conversation more interesting to listen to.

I say to you, speak with passion and, most of all, listen. Humans are remarkable creatures. Lately, I have started talking to more people I don’t know, and it is amazing what I have found out. If I hadn’t talked to people, I would never have known that there is someone else on campus who shares the dream of becoming a screen writer. Everyone is extremely unique and has his or her own story to tell, so why not listen?

kemorrow@mavs.coloradomesa.edu