ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ‘what’ of high quality listening: what do good listeners do? It explores how listeners create the internal and external preconditions of listening. It highlights the distractions, behaviours, beliefs and emotions that can interfere with listening. It argues that setting the intention to listen is a foundation for overcoming these interferences. It then describes the four modes that encompass the good listener’s practice: attention, inquiry, observation and resonance.
The chapter argues that paying attention is simple but not easy. It is the foundation for the other modes of listening. Inquiry harnesses the power of questions and expresses the coach’s curiosity. Observation is about ‘listening with your eyes’ to the non-verbal clues that all speakers give. Resonance involves the coach listening to themselves and using their response to the speaker as a source of understanding and awareness. Each of these modes of listening is explored more deeply in the four chapters that follow.
