“If you let a person talk long enough, you’ll hear their true intentions. Listen twice, speak once.” Tupac Shakur
Motivational speeches get a lot of air time. Just check out Facebook and YouTube. As leaders, however, what really makes an impact is not telling the other person what to do or having “the right words” to fix a problem.
In many situations, leaders need to listen more and talk less. If you’re tempted to speak, begin with a powerful question.
What situations lend themselves to you saying less and listening more?
- When there is tension between you and another person.
- When someone gets emotional.
- When someone makes a mistake.
- When someone needs tor reflect or figure something out from experience.
- When you want someone to give you good feedback.
- When you really don’t understand what it’s like for the other person (which is almost all of the time).
Can you think of a time when you experienced the true value of listening? Comment below or send us a message.
Photo by Kawtar CHERKAOUI on Unsplash
This is so true. I had my first intentional work on listening in 2016 while attending an NVC, Non-Violent Communication, class (originally developed by Marshall Rosenberg). The two main components of the program are Empathy (listening) and Honesty (sharing). I caught on to the Honesty portion of the class quickly; however, I struggled with the Empathy portion. Luckily, the class devoted quite a bit of time to ‘practice’ these methods. It was life-changing to watch others work through the process and then take your turn in learning how to navigate the steps. To this day I will occasionally stumble on the Empathy part, and have the steps posted right next to my computer screen as a reminder. Try it! You will be amazed at how great it makes you and those with whom you interact feel.