EP 221: Ximena Vengoechea - What Great Listeners Know About Being a Great Listener

Do you consider yourself a good listener? Experts believe that many of us overestimate our listening abilities. There is an art to listening and perhaps why we are feeling so unheard is that it's a forgotten art. Ximena Vengoechea is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator who has worked at Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn. Ximena writes for Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, Huff Post, & Fast Company. Her valuable new book, Listen Like You Mean It is beautifully written and will change the way you listen.

• Ximena has been described as a professional listener. Is that how she would describe herself?
• Most people think they are listening but they're really not. Why?
• We prioritise presenting, not listening. Is this changing?
• Has being a researcher impacted conscious awareness of listening for Ximena?
• What was Ximena's parents approach to having four girls in the house in order to make sure they were all heard?
• Why do we need to be reminded of how to be a good conversationalist?
• Have we lost the ability to put ourselves in other people shoes?
• Was Ximena always heard in her family?
• Was there ever a time in her growing up where Ximena felt she wasn't heard?
• Is there a methodology to create an environment where people could be vulnerable?
• Ask yourself what’s needed from me right now in this conversation?
• The How's and Whats to open conversations
• Why in a research session, everything a participant says is potentially important
• To cultivate a listening practice Ximena describes a true effective listening practice.
• To be a better listener we need to know about ourself. What do we need to know?
• What are the triggers to shut down and how do we control them?
• Surface listening - multitasking, interrupting others, mentally checking out
• We blame socials, we blame tech, but are they really to blame?
• What's Ximena's superpower?
• What are the payoffs to being a great listener?