#PNN E-Mentoring (Yoma Victor): 7 Habits of Financially Intelligent People – 5

Continued from here

“Seek first to understand before being understood”

There is a desire in man, and that is his longing to have his voice heard. Humans are creatures of verbal expression. And it is not surprising because God who created man called himself “a speaking spirit” and called man “another speaking spirit”. Now I’m not trying to go all spiritual on you but you need to understand that, we as humans love to be heard and so we speak. Words are very powerful, hence you need to be careful how you speak to people and what you speak about your own life. Your words build your world!

Today is not about speaking though, it is about LISTENING. Your ability to provide solutions to others and be more successful in life is that you are able to restrain yourself from first speaking your mind, but understanding the other person. Too many times we are in a hurry to get our point across but truly, if we only understood the other person, we actually stand a better chance of being a blessing or providing solutions. Understand that, when you solve a problem, you create money. Your ability to first understand the other person is key to how you solve their problems.

My mentor once quoted this “people do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care”. You have to care enough to allow others have their say. Seeking first to understand others endears you to them, makes you out to be dependable and trustworthy. People will follow you if they trust you and can tell that you truly care about them by having a listening ear. Also, don’t listen with your ears while your attention is somewhere else. Be there in body and soul as you listen.

People will buy from you because they
1. Know you
2. Like you
3. Trust you