“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” - #StephenCovey
❓What's your favourite quote from this book?
📗I have used this quote many times in my media communication workshops this year. It’s from Stephen Covey, the author of the very famous The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book.
I read it 25 years ago, and I read it again this year.
I see that many of you have read it too.
It always amazes me, every time I revisit it. It’s the perfect year-end #book recommendation to get into these habits for 2023.
The book has a lot of useful points, but I want to talk about Habit 5: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
When we #communicate, we always think about how we want others to understand us, but for us to really #understand each other, we should be #listening first.
Even though I was trained in a communication discipline since my bachelor’s degree, I would have to admit that my Achilles heel is actually listening! I put a lot of my energy into creating engaging speeches, but not until I was training to be an executive coach that I realized I have to improve my listening skills as well. Not just listening to understand the subject matter but to listen on a deeper level– #empathetic or #compassionate listening.
This kind of listening is a dynamic learning process, especially in an intercultural setting. It also takes into account cultural differences and value systems - from an individual, to a team & organisational level too .
A 2021 study showed that listening creates high-quality connections that result in better creativity, productivity, clarity, and well-being for the people in the workplace.
So when it comes down to listening, let us remember that we are all #humans. We have different feelings and it feels good to be heard and understood. So don’t listen to give a reply, listen to understand - with our heart.
❓What is your favourite part / habit of this book?
#Listening#Communication#EffectiveCommunication#traininganddevelopment#CommunicationSkills#LeadershipDevelopment#Habits#BookReommendation
Another good read👇
Research Article: https://lnkd.in/gd2rqZy3
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