One minute drill

• http://fasterthan20.com/2015/08/falling-off-a-tightrope-a-lesson-in-resilience/
• http://fasterthan20.com/collaboration-muscles-and-mindsets/

1. Select a speaker and a listener.
2. Listener listens without taking notes.
3. Speaker spends one-minute answering a question or telling a story.
4. Speaker takes another minute to answer the same question or to repeat the same story, refining or adding wherever he or she sees fit.

WListener reflects back what he or she heard.

1. Speaker grades the listener on a 1-5 scale (with 5 being the best) based on how well the listener reflected back what the speaker said. If the listener missed any nuance, no matter how subtle, the speaker is instructed not to give the listener a 5.
2. Optional: Have the listener repeat the exercise until he or she gets a 5.

It’s hard. Even doing it once reveals a lot about both parties and about the nature and critical importance of listening, of synthesizing, of feeling heard, and of practice. It’s about repetition, developing critical muscles, building good habits.