The title, “Listen, or Your Tongue Will Make You Deaf”, is a Native American Proverb. Empathetic listening is seeking first to understand, then to be understood. Ineffective listening is listening with the intent to reply as opposed to effective listening that is listening with the intent to understand.
The most important times to use empathetic listening is when emotions are running high; when the other person does not feel understood; when the listener does not understand the speaker; or when trust is low. Others will begin to trust someone who seeks to understand before expressing their views.
Try being an empathetic listener---reflecting what the other person is feeling and saying in your own words. All of this is easier said than done. But the benefits in our professional and personal lives with business relationships and personal relationships could be phenomenal---relationships with peers, spouses, bosses, customers, passengers, and those we may supervise.
