Have you ever noticed how quickly most people forget the things they hear? Scientific studies from the university of Minnesota indicate that most people can recall only 50 percent of what they hear immediately after hearing it. And has time passes, their ability to remember continues to drop. By the next day, their retention is usually down to about 25%.
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One way to combat that tendency is to make your goal understanding rather than just remembering facts.
Author Herb Cohen emphasized, "effective listening requires more than hearing the words transmitted. It demands that you find meaning and understanding in what is being said.
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Let me share below these guideline offered by Eric Allenbaugh on increasing your understanding of others.
- Listen with a head-heart connection.
- listen with the intent of understanding.
- Listen for the message and the message behind the message.
- listen for both content and feeling.
- Listen with your eyes - your hearing will be improved.
- Listen for others' interest, not just their position.
- Listen for what they are saying and not saying.
- Listen with empathy and acceptance.
- Listen for the areas where they are afraid and hurt.
- Listen as you would like to to be listened to..
As you learn to put yourself in other people's position, your ability to understand will increase. And the greater your ability to understand, the better a person you'll become.