Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood.

The ability to understand people is an essential cognitive trait that everyone must look to develop.

There are often situations involving interactions with others- in sales, project management, team meetings, or negotiations- where people tend to hit a wall. They don’t know how to proceed.

This is because they don’t understand human motivations.

Instead of thinking about the people on the other side, they are engrossed in their own opinions and viewpoints. They are always thinking about themselves.

And because of this, they lack the ability to persuade or influence people to get them to move in the direction they want. So as a result, their relationships with people are very tenuous and brittle, lacking in trust.

This is the essence of Habit No 5 as encapsulated by Stephen Covey-Seek first to understand, then to be understood