In one of my coaching calls, my coachee had a moment of insight about something that was once confusing and suddenly became clear.
She commented: “You have a knack for listening between the lines.”
The power of “listening between the lines” is a coaching skill. The listening to the unspoken requires full presence and deep listening. It’s a coaches’ capacity to listen beyond the words. As a result, we pick up on nuances within the content. Above all, we keenly notice the tone, context, and emotions.
When people are unable to express what they are thinking or feeling using words, they may resort to subtle hints and nonverbal cues. Sometimes, they unconsciously convey what’s often hard to fully express in the spoken. And so, helping gain access to inner resources and wisdom, listen between the lines. In other words, coaches have the knack for cutting through the noise. We are fully present and invested in the emerging dialogue. Truly, we are attuned to the energy in the conversation. Altogether, we deeply listen to the clues underlying the words.
One of the greatest gift coaches can offer is to reflect what they hear, within the room and holistically, trusting their intuition, and asking open access questions for clarification.
“What do you notice?”
“What just happened?”.
We challenge your thinking about your thinking, revealing underlying assumptions and unrealized expectations. Coaches expand the scope of the conversation beyond the words we hear and into the connections across the broader eco-system. We bring the invisible, visible.
As a result, honing the ability to listen between the lines, team leaders pick up on subtleties. They gain a deeper understanding of what someone is trying to say and what they are experiencing, in the moment. This is particularly important in building rapport, communicating more effectively, and strengthening relationships at work and in life. Ultimately, building your capacity to listen deeply contributes to fostering courage and trust in the workplace.
Next time you are having a conversation with a colleague, be with the person fully, be with the noise and the quiet. Absorb the subtle cues, get curious, and suspend judgment on your own perspectives and experiences! Be present. Listen between the lines. Mirror back, reflect what you are hearing within the conversation, and beyond. What do you notice?
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