Listen and check understanding · D5.12

Listen for the other person’s point of view

You want to understand someone’s experience without assuming it matches your own.

Everyday practice

Try these steps

1. Invite them to describe the part they want you to understand.
2. Reflect a specific point back in your own words and ask whether you understood it correctly.
3. Acknowledge the experience while keeping room for your own perspective and limits.

An example

It sounds like being left out of the decision mattered most. Have I understood that?

Reflect

What did you learn that you would otherwise have assumed?

Next time

Understanding a feeling does not require agreement with every interpretation or action.