Empathic Listening: Open Heart

Empathic listening is a deep  level of listening.  According to author Otto Scharmer, when we are engaged in real dialogue and paying careful attention, we can become aware of a profound shift in the place from which our listening originates.  We move from seeing the object world of things, figures and facts to listening to the story of a living and evolving self.   When we say "I know how your feel," it requires an open heart to really feel how another feels.  An open heart gives us the capacity to connect directly with another person from within.  When that happens, we enter new territory in the relationship; we forget about our own agenda and begin to see how the world appears through someone else's eyes.

 

Thanks to Dr. Lyman K. (Manny) Steil & Dr. Richard K. (Rick) Bommelje / International Listening Leadership Institute
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