This week I'm writing about the 5 Stepsof God Lstenin. Yesterday was Step 1, Pay Attention. Today it's the second step, Clarification. The other three are: 3. Evaluation, 4. Feedback and 5. Reconfirmation.
Very often in conversation clarification is skipped. The listener takes what he thinks he heard and responds, not stopping to check on whether his interpretation is correct.
And example: when my sons were 3 and 4 they were playing with cars and trucks. It sure looked like they were playing together with all those little vehicles spread out, but at that age it's mostly parallel play.
The younger one said to the older one: "May I have that truck?"
The older one replied: "To have or to use?"
He couldn't answer his brother until his brother clarified the meaning of the words. I suggest that this is more sophisticated than most of the conversation that goes on in households in the evening. Let me correct myself. It's not conversation; it's parallel monologs.
Clarification is important in real estate to make sure that I heard what you think you said. Like the big city couple who told me they wanted a home on acreage. Lots of acreage. After showing homes on 10+ acres all day, I asked for feedback.
"None of these would work. I'd feel lost," said the wife. So I asked a few more questions about their current situation. I knew they lived in San Francisco. But when I found out it was a 35 foot lot, I got it. Their version of acreage was a home on a 100 foot lot.
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