At European Leadership Platform (ELP) we work with the Ten Commandments of Dialogue. The second is : be in the here and now. This moment is everything that counts. When you engage into a dialogue, forget about your to do-lists and leave any issues with colleagues and spouses behind. Forget about that proposal that you have to finish, that email that you just got, your sick child at home, that difficult call that is lurking on tomorrow’s calendar. See if you can focus on what the speaker is saying, what other participants reveal, how you feel yourself. A helpful exercise is to focus on your arms and legs every now and then. Literally feeling what is happening in those body parts helps you to stay in the here and now. And if your child or that email occupy your mind, bring them into the conversation. That is part of being yourself and showing yourself. All these feelings and emotions usually hover over a meeting without being addressed. If they are expressed, the conversation afterwards will be much cleaner and the connection between participants will deepen. This is your personal time and space. Switching off your phone helps by the way.
Source : European Leadership Platform