Lesson #6 - Listen

Step Three of the Relate Model is to Listen to my conversation partner. Am I being sincerely curious about his/her perspective? (04:09).

My goal now is to stop talking about how I see the issue, the topic, the situation. But to work to take on the interactive, extremely hard task to listen and hear my partner's view on the topic at hand. I need to give him/her airtime to speak. And I need to ask clarifying questions - not questions to "prove" something or to "catch" him/her, or to show how smart I am about this topic - but to understand why my partner sees it the way he/she does and to learn how smart he/she is about this issue.

Download The Relate Model and worksheets before viewing the video.

The Relate Model:

Rapport - Do you know how you will start the conversation?

Engage & Encourage - Did you demonstrate your willingness to take a risk?

Listen - Are you sincerely curious about the other perspective?

Ask & Acknowledge - Does your conversation partner feel heard and respected?

Talk - Did you go beyond hello?

Examine - Do you feel more at ease approaching this person again?

Talk to you soon, Tim.