The 4 Levels of Communication

  Dear Readers and Friends,

As in every context of Life Coaching that we are examining, there are little explanations and lots of questions. Finding these answers is our task, discovering ourselves and then improving ourselves and loving ourselves for who we are is the ultimate goal. As already mentioned in several articles: 

“A question at the right time can change your life or at least the vision you have of it”.

If we wish to communicate well, it is important to have a well-founded understanding of someone else's unique model of the world. 

As we have already recognized, everyone experiences a given situation differently. Our internal representations (subjective perceptions) determine how we see and interpret experiences in the external world. We are constantly looking for evidence to support our existing beliefs that we developed about ourselves when we were young.

Because of this, it can be so easy to make assumptions or jump to an incorrect conclusion when communicating. However, if our goal in communication is to understand the person instead of jumping to guesses or judgments, better communication based on trust will naturally occur. 

Understanding the 4 levels of communication (also known as the "Ladder of Inference") helps us ensure that our communications are effectively grounded. It helps us better understand the thought process that often leads an individual to jump to the wrong conclusions.

This model of communication details the thought process individuals go through (often without realizing it), to move from facts to a decision or action. These stages of thinking can be called rungs on a ladder and are shown in the diagram above. 

Starting at the top of the scale, we have "what we mean" or intend to say before we even open our mouths. Then there's "what we actually say" which nine times out of ten is not an accurate representation of what we mean (because we are imperfect communicators). Then there is "what the other person hears" , which again could be very far from what we have actually said and depends on the degree of listening or attention of the other person. And finally, at the bottom of the scale, is "what the other person thinks we mean."At this point, the other person may jump to conclusions or make assumptions about what they think we meant. An example of an assumption might be if an individual takes negative feedback from a coworker to heart and assumes that the coworker thinks they are bad at their job.

They formed a hypothesis based on beliefs they developed about themselves at an earlier stage in life. 

A person's beliefs can have a huge effect on what they choose to take from what we say and can lead them to completely ignore the facts of what is being said . 

They soon jump to conclusions, missing the facts and skipping steps in this reasoning process. 

The 4 levels of communication can help people learn to go back to facts and use their beliefs and experiences to positive effect, rather than allowing them to narrow their judgements. 

Following this reasoning process can lead people to better results that are based in reality, and thus help them avoid unnecessary conflicts and mistakes.

 

HOW TO USE THE THEORY

This communication pattern helps people draw better conclusions. We can also use it to help challenge or validate other people's conclusions. This reasoning process helps us remain objective and, when working with or challenging other people, reach a shared conclusion without any conflict. You can use the following steps to challenge thinking using these 4 levels of communication:

1 . Stop! It's time to consider your reasoning.

2 . Identify where you are on the scale. Six:

- be selective about what you feel?

- Interpret what you think it means to the other person?

- Making or testing hypotheses?

- Form or test conclusions?

- Decide what to do and why?

3 . From your current "run," analyze your reasoning by moving up the ladder. This will help you track the facts and reality that you are actually working with. At each stage, ask yourself "what" are you thinking and "why". As you go through each step, you'll likely need to adjust your reasoning. For example, you may need to extend the information you've been selectively listening to or change some assumptions. The following questions will help you work backwards (up the ladder, starting at the bottom):

- Why did you choose this course of action? Are there any other measures you could have considered?

- What belief leads to this action? Was it well founded?

- Why did you draw this conclusion? Is the conclusion valid?

- What are you hiring, and why? Are your assumptions correct?

- What data did you choose to use and why? Did you select the data rigorously?

- What are the real facts you should use? Are there any other points you could consider?

- With this new sense of reasoning (and maybe even a larger data field and more thoughtful assumptions), you can now go down the ladder again, step by step!

TIPS FOR USING THESE 4 LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

You can use this mode of communication at any stage of your thought process. If you're asking any of the following questions, the template may prove to be a helpful aid:

- Is this the "right" conclusion?

- Why am I making these assumptions?

- Why do I think this is the "right" thing to do?

- Is this conclusion based on all the facts?

- Why do you believe it?

When you're thinking, pay attention to the steps you tend to skip.

Do you tend to make assumptions too quickly? Do you tend to choose only a part of the information?

Consider your tendencies so you can learn to consider this stage of reasoning more carefully moving forward. Try explaining your reasoning to a friend or colleague, as this will help ensure that your argument is sound and of rational judgment.

If you're challenging someone else's conclusions, it's especially important to be able to explain your reasoning to the other person in a way that helps you avoid conflict and reach a shared conclusion.

This model was first proposed by organizational psychologist Chris Argyris and was also used by Peter Senge in "The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization".

Well, as you have read, also in this article a work on oneself is necessary. Which I emphasize in every article and always encourage you to do.

Obviously, in addition to reading the article, I also hope that you follow it and do the exercises, surely there will be discoveries that you will not expect.