Mindful listening. A phrase that I frequently hear from my son, Henry Eve, psychologists working with young adults that cannot verbally express themselves. If you cannot express yourself verbally, the next emotion that you feel is that of anger. Is that applicable to your clients and what does that mean with a client?
An example is a recent high-level relocation that ended successfully because our consultant allowed herself to listen mindfully and change her perspective during the relocation. The original mission was to find an apartment for our client that wanted the new home to mirror their current home in their home country. The client showed us pictures of their beautiful apartment and asked us to find the same apartment in Milan. They had further qualified their need and indicated preferences for different areas with a budget that fit those areas. After 5 unsuccessful visits, the consultant realised that this was not really the clients’ goal or needs. The consultant could have tried to manage their expectations. Instead, the consultant changed her perspective and heard that the client was not identifying with the houses because of the area. Interestingly enough, the area that they wanted was quite limited to a radius of 700 meters.
So, mindful listening with a client, is not only asking questions but acknowledging what the client is saying and reacting to their needs vs. expectations.