Emphatic listening

Empathy and trust are a platform for effective understanding,
communication and relationships. Empathy and trust are essential to
develop solutions, win and retain business, and avoiding or diffusing
conflict.
Empathy and trust are essential for handling complaints and retaining
customers. These days we need to be more effective communicators to be
successful in business - and in life. The 'steps of the sale', persuasion,
closing techniques, features and benefits do not build rapport or
relationships - empathy, trust, understanding and sympathetic
communications do.
One-sided persuasion is not sustainable and is often insulting, especially
when handling complaints. Trust and empathy are far more important in
achieving and sustaining successful personal and business relationships!
Emphatic Listening
Put yourselves in the shoes of another person and practice
effective listening.
Empathic listening is a way of listening and responding to another
individual that improves mutual understanding and trust. It's a crucial skill
for all individuals, as it enables the listener to receive and precisely
interpret the speaker's message, then provide an appropriate reaction.
The Skills
Empathic listening is a way of listening and responding to another
individual that improves mutual understanding and trust. It's a crucial skill
for all individuals, as it enables the listener to receive and precisely
interpret the speaker's message, then provide an appropriate reaction. The
response is an integral part of the listening process and can be vital to the
success of a negotiation or mediation. Amidst its Advantages, empathic
listening
1. Forms trust and respect,
2. Enables the individuals to let go of their emotions,
3. Reduces stresses,
4. Promotes the surfacing of information
5. Creates a safe environment that's conducive to collaborative problem
solving
Though useful for everybody involved, the power and willingness to listen
empathetically is often what sets the individuals apart from others involved.
Even when the matters aren't resolved during mediation, the listening
method can have a fundamental affect on the parties.
Individuals tend to filter the data they receive through their own
paradigms, reading their autobiography into other people's lives, or
projecting their own views onto other people's behavior.
When a different individual is speaking, we commonly "listen" at one of
four levels: ignoring, pretending, selective listening, or attentive listening.
We ought to be utilizing the fifth, highest form of listening - empathic
listening.
Empathic listening is listening with intent to comprehend the other
person's frame of reference and feelings. You have to listen with your ears,
your eyes and your heart.
Empathic listening is a tremendous deposit into the emotional bank
account. It's profoundly therapeutic and healing as it gives a individual
"psychological air."
Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is
psychological survival - to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated,
and to be appreciated.
How to Listen
Empathy is the power to project oneself into the personality of another
individual in order to better comprehend that individuals emotions or
feelings. With empathic listening the listener lets the speaker know, "I
comprehend your issue and how you feel about it, I'm interested in what
you're saying and I'm not judging you."
The listener unmistakably communicates this message through words and
non-verbal actions, including body language. In doing so, the listener
encourages the speaker to totally express herself or himself free of
disruption, criticism, or being told what to do.
It's neither advisable nor necessary for an individual to agree with the
speaker, even when asked to do so. It's generally sufficient to let the speaker
know, "I understand you and I'm interested in being a resource to help you
solve this issue."
It should be apparent that empathic listening is a core skill that will
strengthen the interpersonal effectiveness of people in numerous aspects of
their professional and personal lives. Through the use of skilled listening
these individuals can control the listening by their:
1. Willingness to let the other parties dominate the discussion,
2. Paying attention to what is being said,
3. Caring about not interrupting
4. Use of open-ended questions,
5. Sensitivity to the emotions being expressed
6. Ability to reflect back to the other individual, the substance, and feelings
being expressed
When you listen well you:
1. Acknowledge the speaker
2. Increase the speaker's self-respect and self-confidence
3. Tell the speaker, "you're important" and "...