Active Listening: Girl Talk

This might sound a little cheesy, but whenever I talk to girls (my ex-girlfriend, or just girls in general) I sort of cheer them on. If I don't do things like rephrase what they've stated or show them I'm listening, I feel like a bad friend. The thing is, I CAN TALK... A LOT! But when I'm talking to my friends, girls especially, I try not to talk about myself too much. I notice myself actively listening most when there's a problem or something bad 'in the air'. For example, just last night I was talking to my ex-girlfriend about little things (how are you? school? etc.) and she seemed really down. I encouraged her to open up, and that's when she started talking about her problems with school and boys. I don't want to get too specific, though. I don't know if I do this because of AOD, or it's something I just do... but I've noticed myself doing it ever since I started Mary's class.