Are you an Active Listener?

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When other people are talking, do you really listen to what they are saying?? Or, do you find yourself gazing out the window, daydreaming or thinking about someone else?? Becoming an active listener is important in all relationships. To become an active listener: (1) Listen to what a person is saying and pay attention to body language. Ask yourself, what is the main idea that this person is trying to get across?? What are they concerned about or interested in? (2) Then be sure to respond to the person's main idea, concern, or interest appropriately. (3) Also, be sure that you have met the requirement or purpose of the conversation. For example, your lover comes to you concerned that she is going to lose her job. You should (1) listen to those concerns and body language (which probably insinuates stress) and (2) respond appropriately. You wouldn't want to simply say, "Okay," because obviously the speaker want more out of the conversation than to simply inform you of a layoff. (3) If you ask yourself what the pupose of this message is, you will clearly see that "Okay," is the absolute WRONG response. Instead, you will respond with a concerned demeanor and most likely try to convince your spouse that everything will workout, reguardless what happens. So.....Are you an active listener?