Habit 5 Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood: The Habit of Mutual Understanding

by Stephen R. Covey (Narrator)

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood is about developing the skill of empathic listening. Dr Stephen R Covey teaches listeners the value of interacting 'with understanding' to influence co-workers, bosses, your spouses, children, and neighbours. He shows how the real key to influence is 'actual conduct based on true understanding of another point of view.' In this in-depth exploration of Habit 5, listeners will hear Dr Covey teach how to identify the four autobiographical responses most people have when they listen. Since communication skills 'will not be effective unless they come from a sincere desire to understand', Habit 5 is where listeners learn how to transcend the limits of human perception so that they can deeply communicate and cooperatively deal with the issues and come up with Win/Win solutions. This is not pop psychology or simply a trendy catch phrase. Rather Dr Covey helps the listener examine the character attributes that lead to behaviours.

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman, and speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. In 1996, Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University (USU) at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Yuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covey demonstrates how to truly listen to someone and understand them both cognitively and empathetically. Listening to this brought me to tears. I have always felt misunderstood and this book was the first to not only explain why, but also to walk through an example of how to make someone feel understood. I don't remember anyone in my life ever seeking to understand me empathetically, validate my feelings, or give an empathetic response to what I was trying to get across. Not…once…in…40…years… (note: this doesn't mean I had never received empathy from someone, it's possible I could have never been attuned to that kind of thing, so missed them entirely).
Thank you Stephen for showing me what was possible!

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better ones.