Why is listening important and to whom is it important? Simon Senek states the following:
“Listening is not the act of hearing the words spoken; it is the art of understanding the meaning behind those words.” –Simon Sinek
When we examine the “who” our listening skills impact, we find that listening well, when we listen to understand, we the listener and the person we are listening to are both elevated. Michael Banissy Ph. D, wrote in an article titled “The Listening Advantage” published in Psychology Today, states that both parties have increased levels of trust and well being one to another when listening occurs. We may sometimes think of the word “art” as something akin to a talent you have or do not have. Thinking about people like Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci and the word “art” can become daunting and lead us to believe only unique people can creat “art”. Yet the word “art” as noted by Senek, refers to the capacity to get better with practice and intent.
So, what is motivational interviewing (listening). Adam Grant in his book “Think Again” describes motivational interviewing:
“Motivational interviewing starts with an attitude of humility and curiosity. We don’t know what might motivate someone else to change, but we’re genuinely eager to find out. The goal isn’t to tell people what to do; it’s to help them break out of overconfidence cycles and see new possibilities. Our role is to hold up a mirror so they can see themselves more clearly, and then empower them to examine their beliefs and behaviors.”(Pg 77)
The ability to listen, the desire to help someone, provides us with motivation to engage in helping others with our humility and curiosity. We care, so we are curious how we can help. We listen so we better understand, to understand the meaning of what is communicated. We move to help by asking the right questions to ensure the person to whom we are listening understands we are engaged with a desire to help.
Are we motivated to help? As we think about those in our family, at our workplace, in the community in which we live, do we want to help someone? Think about someone you know who is struggling with a situation and look to help them with motivational interviewing. Listen with true intent to understand and help them find the answers within themselves that will empower them.
If you know someone who is struggling and needs help from a person that will listen with a desire to understand and to help empower, tag them into this post. If you have experienced helping someone by listening, please share in the comments. Perhaps you have been helped by someone with humility and a desire to help, if so, please share.
#listen #begreat #help