Listening to Hear Tip #1
When listening to hear is in play:
Connection is built
Trust level increases
Doors open
Believability rises
Relationship occurs
We aren’t trying to solve all of our listening issues. We’re simply offering 3 simple tips to engage with your host/interviewer/audience through listening.
BEING (present)
SEEING (the person)
HEARING (the person
BEING PRESENT taps into mindfulness from our Session 2 on the SMART Method Video Curriculum. We can be present by actively quieting outside swirling thoughts tend to make us go auto pilot.
How many times have you driven the same route day after day without full awareness of where you’re going or what’s going on. I’ve found myself in the grocery store parking lot without really intending to be there simply because I go there so often.
We do the same thing in conversation.
It is almost second nature to autopilot via expectations or assumptions of how someone will respond. So, we preempt. We even have our own responses on deck before an angles has even presented itself.
All of which hinders hearing – especially on topics of which we’re intimately aware.
So, let’s pause for a moment when something is being said, and to be present and to hear. How?
If possible, zip expectations
Dial down assumptions (of ourselves & listeners, including the host or your interviewer – even a job interview => their POV, where a chat is going, … )
Use emotions, often signaled by tone, to help rather than distract
Be aware of auto-pilot tendencies
Anchor thoughts in the current moment
Listening to hear is one of the easiest and impactful acts of kindness. As humans, a core human need to be heard & known. Why not meet someone where they are today. Listen to hear them. And maybe even go an extra step by saying their name.