During Times Of Change - Learn To Listen

by Skill Packs skillpacks

During times of change our natural habit it to focus inwards, towards our own experiences and the challenges that we’re facing. We’re experiencing greater uncertainty, worry and fear and as a result it’s natural that we become less aware of others. There’s a lot going on within our own world to take our attention.

 

However, during times of change is exactly when we need to learn to listen.

 

We all play multiple roles in life, whether it’s as a sibling, child, parent, colleague, manager, leader. In all those roles it’s the relationships that we have which enrich our lives. And it’s during times of change that we have the opportunity to provide support to others and strengthen the bond we have with them.

 

Learn to calm all the internal chatter that we have during times of change, and truly listen to others.

 

We can be guided by the Chinese character for listen. Chinese characters are an ancient form of writing and are ‘pictograms’ the symbol visually represents the meaning that it is conveying. The Chinese character for listen is made up of 5 components.

 

The 5 components of the Chinese character for listen:

 

Our ears: of course, listening starts with the ear, we must take in the sounds. Not just the sounds of the words themselves, but also all the other aspects of voice: the tone, emphasis, speed of the spoken word. All these aspects of voice add to our understanding, particularly in terms of the emotions and priorities of the person who is speaking.

 

Our eyes: our eyes continue to add to the understanding, particularly understanding of the person who is speaking and their relationship to what is being said. Are they engaged, are they literally ‘leaning in’ to the discussion.

 

Our mind: as we’re listening, we’re also deciding how we want to listen, there are different types of listening: we might chose to listen with an open mind, or we may need to listen more critically, or with empathy for the person who is speaking.

 

Our heart: we’ve mentioned empathy already. The fourth element of the Chinese character for listen is the heart, to listen deeply and connect with the person who is speaking.

 

Finally, we listen with undivided attention. This is the fifth and final element of the Chinese character for listen.

 

All of this is communicated through one character, and the many strokes of the ink pen that make up the character.

 

Another great tool for learning to listen during times of change is the house of change.

 

The house helps you understand the person who is speaking, through the analogy of a house. The house has different rooms within it, and as each of us experiences the highs and lows of change we move from the ‘basement’ up to the ‘sun deck’. This simple analogy helps us understand ourselves and others.

 

Just like a house, we can’t move immediately from the basement to the sundeck, we must move through other rooms in the house on our journey. They include the room of denial, the room of confusion, the room of renewal and the room of contentment.

 

For more, take a look at is the house of change.

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Created on Jun 15th 2020 00:37. Viewed 206 times.

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