Provide safe spaces for people.

Am I the only one that gets annoyed when I’m trying to talk to someone about a challenge or an issue I’m facing and they suddenly turn it around to themselves and how they’ve gone through something similar or worse, thereby invalidating my own situation? I get that you have gone through something similar but I don’t need to hear it when I’m talking about my own situation.

Perhaps you could wait till I ask for your help on how to deal with the situation before telling me about your own similar situation. If you want people to feel comfortable talking to you, you have to learn the art of listening to listen and understand, not to listen and reply or listen and counter.

Allow people to feel safe and comfortable enough to talk to you about anything at any time. With all we go through on a daily basis, we could all stand to have a safe space where we can talk about anything. Let’s try to be that for people.

Ibukun From MANI