Active listening in virtual conversations
As we move towards the eighth month of the pandemic and quarantines in many parts of the world, we would think that by now people have gotten used to virtual meetings; apparently far from it. Still, many people that I meet virtually keep their cameras off during the entire duration of the meeting. While many people have a valid reason for not having a highspeed internet provider in their residences, some are just procrastinating to upgrade their internet connection to enable videoconferencing.
Seeing the other parties in a virtual meeting is of utmost importance during these times, when individuals and businesses are experiencing economic, mental, and psychological hardships. That’s why I argued in my other writings that “empathy, the capability to understand and feel what others are experiencing, should be at the core of all human interactions, especially during these times.” Moreover, “businesses, being the major driver of economic activity, should be at the forefront of practicing and exhibiting empathy toward their employees, customers and other stakeholders.”
Empathy has three levels — listening, trusting, and understanding. Listening is the most important part because through it, trust is developed, and understanding is reached. But listening here is not like listening to a lecture or a concert. What truly will lead to trusting and understanding is active listening.
Just like in faceto-face communication, virtual communication is a twoway process. There is the audience or the other party, and there is a speaker. In virtual conversations or meetings, two or multiple parties play the role of both speaker and listener, vacillating from one role to another.
When you are in the listening role, you give your precious resources to the one speaking to show respect — your time. Active listening requires that the listener fully concentrate, understand, respond, and then remember what is being said. Unlike in face-to-face meetings, there is the facility to observe body languages and respond to the speaker accordingly.
THE PESO extended its decline versus the dollar on Thursday after the US Treasury said the passage of a stimulus may be delayed further.
The local unit closed at P48.68 versus the dollar on Thursday, declining by three centavos from its P48.65 finish on Wednesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website showed.
The peso opened at P48.58 against the greenback on Thursday. It climbed to an intraday high of P48.56 during the session and hit a low of P48.69 versus the dollar.
The volume of dollars traded rose to $829.01 million on Thursday from $ 715.61 million on Wednesday.
A trader said the peso sank after the chief of the US Treasury Department doubted the passage of a fresh economic stimulus meant to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The local currency weakened after US Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin stated that any coronavirus stimulus package is unlikely to pass before the November presidential elections,” the trader said in an e-mail.
Mr. Mnuchin said he and House of Representat ives Speaker Nancy Pelosi were “far apart” on another coronavirus economic relief package, and that a deal would be hard to reach before the Nov. 3 elections, but he would keep trying, Reuters reported.
The White House and Democrats and Republicans in Congress are under mounting pressure to hammer out a fiscal stimulus deal to help Americans weather a pandemic that has killed nearly 216,000 people and damaged the economy.
But the two sides are divided over several priorities. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are resisting as too expensive a $1.8trillion offer that Mr. Mnuchin proposed last week. Ms. Pelosi says it’s insufficient and is calling for a $2.2-trillion package.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the US Congress, announced that the Senate would vote next week on a slimmed down $ 500- billion COVID- 19 bill. Democrats blocked a similar proposal last month.
The US Congress passed about $3 trillion in coronavirus aid, including help for the unemployed, in March.
For today, the trader sees the peso moving from P48.60 to P48.80 per dollar, while Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort sees it ranging from P48.60 to P48.75. —