Search Results: building a trusting relationship

Of all the men and women you've known in life: friends, partners, family members etc who tend to be better listeners?

Here's some advice on how to be a better listener:

"Show You Are Listening

Part of really listening is responding in a way that shows the other person we are paying attention. We can demonstrate we are truly listening in four different ways. For example, if a coworker comes to you and complains about their micromanaging boss, you could show you are listening by:

Reflecting back the content
Example: As you see it, your boss is micromanaging you…

Reflecting back the feeling
Example: So you feel frustrated because…

Reflecting both content and feeling
Example: You feel frustrated because your boss is micromanaging you…

Being silent and attentive
A helpful phrase to show you are listening might be:

So you feel ___________________ because ______________________.

Other helpful phrases might include:

You seem…
You sound…
What I’m hearing is…
As you see it…
Tell me more…
Is there anything else…
Not only is listening to others a key life skill, it can also have a tremendous impact on building trust in a relationship. When we take the time to listen, we show the other person that we care—that we are interested in understanding their perspective. That can go a long way toward building, or rebuilding, a relationship.

“The purpose of life is to listen – to yourself, to your neighbor, to your world and to God and, when the time comes, to respond in as helpful a way as you can find … from within and without.” ~ Fred Rogers