Hearing is not the same as listening.
Hearing is a physiological act while listening is a psychological one.
When we listen, we are truly paying attention, and making a keen effort to try and understand what the other person is trying to convey.
We don’t assume.
We don’t “fill in the blanks”.
We don’t twist the meaning to suit our narrative.
This is a pretty difficult thing to grasp if you’ve never been coached through it.
Last week during my Consulting Masterclass, we did some role playing on the #ActiveListening module.
In the beginning, the students could tell me what active listening was, but found the role play challenging, as they tried to practice what they thought they knew.
We then walked through multiple scenarios and everyone had a go at responding in a non judgemental way
Some of their reflections:
Harder than I thought.
Ignored the other party as I focused on what I thought the objective was.
Was trying to figure out my next question.
I felt I needed to solve their problem.
It will take mindful practice but it will be so worth it when it becomes second nature.
Practice makes progress.
Keep at it.
You can only get better and you’ll find that it might be as life changing for you, as it was for me. 🌹
