Then Seek to Be Understood

Covey reasons that seeking to understand requires consideration and seeking to be understood requires courage. In interdependent situations, like in the workplace, it is also important to be understood. Covey describes ethos (personal character/credibility), pathos (empathy with the other person), and logos (the logic or reasoning part of the presentation) as the sequence in which you should seek to be understood. You first need to earn people’s trust (their faith in your integrity and competency), then you need to align yourself with the emotional thrust of another person’s communication (through empathic communication), and then only can you focus on your argument/presentation. The end result can only then be a win-win situation.