LISTEN & SILENT are spelled with the same letters! Have you ever wondered why?

13 May 2021

Listening means allowing the pauses. Ask thoughtful questions and be comfortable with the silences that may follow. Don’t rush to fill the gaps.

If the person doesn’t answer right away..wait. Don’t jump in to explain, soften the tone or suggest an answer. Let the person process.

Your willingness to pause and listen tells them, “This question is really important, and your answer is worth waiting for”

Great advice isn’t it?
Hey listen, it’s not written by me but from Gary Burnison’s latest book Leadership U – Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve. It’s an extract from the chapter Listen.

An HR research discovered one way of building trust & confidence is to “ask a question, shut up and listen”.
More to it “ask a question, shut up, pause, listen, silence, shut up, pause, listen, silence….”

I remember on one of my coaching leaders workshop, during a practice session, one participant who played the role of a Coach held his silence for more than a minute when everyone in the class were fidgeting and wondering what was happening and then…the Coachee responded! Everybody heaved a sigh of relief. What a moment for the Coach.

What makes silence so uncomfortable for most people? What do you think?