The Listening Path®
Equip Your Team with the Right Tools
The Listening Path: Understanding What is Being Said
EQuipt’s game-changing Listening Path® uncovers the true needs of your clients and customers (internal and external) by clearly understanding both what is being said and what is not being said, allowing you to align your offerings to both. By detecting the unstated needs of others, Transformational Listening forever pivots the conversation by allowing individuals and teams to lead, sell, and negotiate more successfully. Listening Path® Tools are a series of listening-focused techniques and strategies that can help individuals improve their overall listening skills. The importance of these tools cannot be overstated, as they have been designed to help individuals navigate challenging conversations and build better relationships with others. The tools can be used alone or in combination, but together, they have the potential to be transformational in their impact.
There are three main levels of Listening Path® Tools: Foundational, Specialty and Technical. As each tool is added to the listener’s backpack, they become more skilled at navigating all aspects of communication, listening, storytelling, controlling the conversation, managing conflict, and negotiating.
The Foundational Tools are the basis for listening differently, and include the Map, Stops, Compass, Flashlight, Water Filter, and Footprints. These tools are described in the book, ‘What Is It Costing You Not to Listen?’ and are essential in laying the groundwork for Transformational listening. The Map provides a clear understanding of the conversation’s terrain and forms the basis of the listening process. The four Stops are necessary to pause, slow down, and refocus attention whenever it may wander. The Compass allows individuals to ask questions that establish and maintain a clear direction for the conversation, while the Flashlight helps them to illuminate key points when the conversation seems obscured. The Footprints refer to the clues and cues present in each conversation that can help a listener draw connections and correlations, while the Water Filter removes contamination of the story and by affirming a shared understanding that leads to increased trust, connection and alignment between the speaker and the listener.
The Specialty Tools enable the listener to be nimble and include the Listening Sandwich, Magnifying Glass, and Rope. The Listening Sandwich enables the listener to ask directed questions without shaping the story, allowing the real needs of the teller to emerge. The Magnifying Glass helps the listener interrupt effectively and efficiently to control the conversation, whereas the Rope is a metaphorical tool that represents the stories the listener needs on the Listening Path® to create trust and keep the speaker connected to them through difficult moments and conversations.
The Technical Tools include the Trekking Poles, Swiss Army Knife, and First Aid Kit. Trekking Poles give listeners the confidence to pivot from listener to teller effectively, while the Swiss Army Knife teaches problem-solving skills. Lastly, the First Aid Kit helps with conflict management and negotiation.
Listening Path® Tools are an essential set of techniques and strategies that can help individuals navigate conversations more effectively, build trusting relationships, and solve problems successfully.
