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Three levels of communication
Monday 14 August 2006
The news this morning is that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force at 6 am this morning, London time. As I write at 7.30 am, BBC correspondents in the Middle East report that after a month dominated by the sound of guns, rockets and explosions there is now “astonishing” quiet. I pray that the ceasefire will hold.
As for the threat of terrorism in the air, the security threat level has been reduced from “critical” to “severe”. A terrorist attack is still regarded as “highly likely” but not “imminent”. This may reduce delays at airports over the next few days.
I was unable to meet my mysterious new friend Bagent yesterday and therefore have nothing to report from him.
One of my students on the Emotional Intelligence course raised a query about three levels of listening identified by the Heartmath Institute. I answered her query like this: Think of an office building with three floors. There is a lift in the building and the top button in the lift is marked "Word level". If you get out at this level you will find that the people on this floor are the least good communicators. They argue about words and are prone to misinterpret each other. They have difficulty in expressing their meaning. When their emotions are charged their ability to misinterpret words is heightened.
The middle button in the lift is marked "Feeling level". If you get out at on this floor you will find that the people are rather better at communicating than the people on the top floor. They are less superficial in their approach and notice non-verbal signs in the other person. They are less inclined to argue about words and misinterpret each other
The bottom button in the lift is marked "Essence level". If you get out here, the ground floor, you will discover that the people who work at this level are the best communicators. They share deep values, trust one another, never argue about words, communicate well and work effectively as teams.
I think this is a useful analysis. If it were better understood and more widely put into practice I think that negotiations at the international level, as in the Middle East, and in our offices, schools and families would be more successful. A more peaceful world would result.
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