Listening with Understanding and Empathy

What does it mean?

Much more than hearing. Listening with the goal of understanding the other persons point of view, their perspective and through this being able to empathise with them. It s a deep and involved hearing that involves your thought processes actively making sense of what is absorbed. Often it means hearing more than what is said but also how it is said, when it is said and who says it.

Why does it matter?

A good listener is a valuable commodity. It is a critical life skill to be able to listen to someone, to understand them and to have empathy for their point of view and the value what they are saying.

When should you use it?

Every time it is important that you understand what is being communicated to you. Beyond the obvious, Listening with understanding can extend to all forms of communication where you need to be 'Hearing' a persons full message. 

An example:

Thinking Routines for Listening with Understanding and Empathy

1. Circle of Viewpoints - a thinking routine that will help you see diverse perspective and look at a situation from another person's point of view. Useful in small groups.
   1. Brainstorm a list of different perspectives and then use this script skeleton to explore each one:
      1. I am thinking of ... the topic... From the point of view of ... the viewpoint you've chosen
      2. I think ... describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an actor – take on the character of your view- point
      3. A question I have from this viewpoint is ... ask a question from this viewpoint
   2. Wrap up: What new ideas do you have about the topic that you didn't have before? What new questions do you have? Record your thinking with a mind map, locating differing points of view around a circle.
2. Here Now/There Then - a thinking routine to encourage thinking about how attitudes and beliefs change over time or from place to place.
   1. Identify an issue that has changed over time or is seen differently from place to place or across cultures
   2. Brainstorm what is known about the issue now and then, how has it changed and what has caused the change. Identify cultural perspectives that make one understanding more true for one culture compared to another.
   3. Ask 'What do I not understand about the other point of view or why things are/were different?' then ask 'How will I find that information?'
   4. Create a comparison chart of Venn diagram to organise your information. 
   5. Use this information in a 'Circle of Viewpoints' to help you understand the different perspectives.

Thinking Routines adapted from Harvard's 'Visible Thinking Resource Book'