The other day I commented on someone’s LinkedIn post, saying that at times it’s easy to understand someone’s problem but more difficult to put it on paper. And to hone it down. What is the essence of it, what is the actual problem.

What do I really want to help with?

And it got me thinking.

You can master this with this technique: asking questions and paraphrasing. Which is a great conversation technique. It means rephrasing in your own words what you’ve heard from the other person.

If it’s not exactly what the other person meant, they will be encouraged to share more. In fact, if you’re the other person it’s impossible to stay silent and not give more information. Eventually you get to a much deeper level of understanding the problem. And you’ll really know what you can work with.

Coaching made easy – this tip can be applied to any situation. Also useful for your leadership conversations.

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