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

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

Aug 12, 2021

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?