Listening is at least half of two critical components to communication. However, our failure in society to listen to and hear each other has become one of the most destructive of our flaws. People need to be listened to and understood by each other and we must learn to listen to each other on a regular basis. In fact, listenining should even be taught in schools to our children as a necessary part of communication. Here is some powerful and informative research and discussion around the importance of listening.