The majority of people just don’t bother to care what you have to say, they don’t like to listen to you. Their ego fuelled brain thinks they know more than you do. Most just assume listening to you will give them head trauma, as it’s too much of a burden.
Once you listen to someone talk, by having a face to face conversation, what you’re doing is absorbing partial information by taking mental notes.
As we begin to age, as the brain becomes more mature and crusty, this cognitive function of learning new information begins to take a lot more effort and concentration.
The more you fill your brain with facts and data, and store them in your memory bank, such as life experiences and numbers, the less room you’ll have for cramming in new info.
As a result, you begin to refute and have different opinions and objections, while your brain repels data.
To Learn More
For those who are lifelong learners, the more information that’s presented to them, the more work that’s required to remember, while remaining as open minded as possible.
Their thirst for learning never ends. The motivation and hunger to do so, usually out weights the desire not to.
This quest for new information exists, because they know the world they live in, is continuously evolving.
There are new developments and ideas popping up on a daily basis, and they don’t want to be left behind.
So the effort lies in incorporating them into their life, the best and quickest way possible. They want to keep themselves engaged as well as remain relevant.
There are methods which you can use to stay as open minded and impressionable as possible, regardless of how resistant your brain is getting.
Quieting Down Your Inner Voice
You know that voice, that constant running commentary you can’t keep quiet when someone is talking to you.
It’s that persistent at times annoying little whining voice which brings forward your opinion, regarding any information that’s being presented.
It’s also easier just to pay more attention to that inner voice, rather than listening to someone rambling on and on.
That “voice” also often keeps you from absorbing new information. It will often make you shut down, before you’ve heard or understand the entire premise.
So begin to focus less on what that voice in your head is squawking, and listen more to what the speaker is saying. You might be surprised at what you hear and learn.
Having Arguments With Yourself
But since it’s impossible to entirely shut out that inner voice, then use it to your advantage.
Every time you begin hearing yourself contradicting or mentally opposing someone speak, stop yourself and take that persons point of view.
Make suggestions to your brain, the reasons why the person you’re listening to may be right, and you may be wrong.
What will happen is you’ll open yourself up to the information that’s being provided. If that fails, then you’ll at the very least strengthen your own argument.
Become Curious About Everything
There are some who remains completely curious about absolutely everything. The majority of us however, just don’t care about anything but ourselves.
Regardless of where you’re at, there are benefits of becoming more curious and asking questions about things that interests you.
The next time you’re listening to any type of new information, think and write down a few relevant questions.
If you happen to be at a lecture or watching a documentary, jot down questions and use Google or AI to find the answers later.
If you’re in a direct conversation with someone, then you can just ask the person for clarification, or the answer.
Either way, by being curious, you’ll learn a lot more. Just thinking up new questions, will help encode the concepts which are being presented in your brain.
Find Out The Truth
There are no concepts or theories which comes directly out of thin air. They’re all already thought out, discovered and revealed already.
Somewhere in the presentation of an elaborate concept, which may sound completely nonsensical, there’s always some aspect of it which is based on fact.
Even if you don’t completely buy into the idea, or theory, you can at the very least identify it as bits of truth.
Then begin thinking like a detective would, and start extrapolating.
This way, you’ll enhance and develop your skills of deduction, and may at times even improve on the concept. You can do so beyond what the speakers original idea was.
Focus Directly On The Message By Ignoring The Speaker
At times, some will just stop listening and shut out who they’re listening to. The reason for this, is because of the person who’s doing the talking.
They can’t relate to them, or they flat out dislike the person, so they tune them out altogether, despite what they’re saying.
This could also be because the speaker is completely boring or arrogantly egotistical, or someone who’s physically unappealing.
The actual speaker can have an impact on you, resulting in you not being able to grasp what they’re saying.
Just Extract The Content
Even those close to you can disrupt the learning process, because you shut them out. The reason is because you think they’re not an actual authority on the topic.
What you need to do instead, is completely separate the information from the speaker delivering it, and pick out the details.
Pretend you don’t know the person, so you can actually hear the subject or content as objectively as possible.
As for listening to that boring person, focus more intently on what their saying.
Allow your inner voice to add to the discussion. Keep yourself as entertained as possible, and extract the logic.