Seek first to understand

Typically we seek to be understood. 

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. They listen with the intent to reply.   

They are either speaking or preparing to speak. 

They are filtering everything and interpreting it in the context of their own lives.

And in today's world of instant communication with tweets, facebook notifications and emails popping up all the time the problem is compounded. Just take a minute to reflect on some of your conversations over the past 2 days..... would you have made the other person/people feel like the most important people in the world? If not, then you are falling short in your journey to becoming a Learning Entrepreneur... read on!

Levels of listening

Four common levels of listening have been identified, they are:

1. Ignoring.
2. Pretending to listen - i.e. “Right”, “Yeah, Yeah”, “OK, OK”.
3. Selective listening - hearing only certain parts of the conversation that have a particular interest for them.
4. Attentive listening – paying attention and focusing on the words.

Empathetic listening

The highest form of listening is empathetic listening, in other words listening with the intent to understand.  It involves more than registering the words that are spoken; it involves trying to understand what the person is saying, feeling and thinking.

To develop empathetic listening use your ears, eyes and heart.

You listen for feeling, meaning and behaviour.

This approach is a power resource for your networking helping you access needs that will enable you to fully connect with that person and offer tools/ people/ resources that might be of use to them. 

So over to you, will your listening be a power resource or a power zapper?

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