“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood.” – Ralph Nichols
Being human, we all have certain basic needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs outlines them quite well and encompasses all that we generally think about when it comes to what we need.
Sorry, not the clearest image at this size but it was the only one I found that spelled out the different layers.
Yet one of our most basic needs, the need to understand and be understood, seldom gets much attention.
It should.
Without the ability to understand what others say or the meaning behind their words, we can miss important cues, lose out on opportunities, fail to see changes in time to appropriately react, and go off in a totally different direction. Worse, if we lack understanding, we’re more prone to selfish acts than helping others.
Similarly, without others being able to understand us, we’re often left confused, frustrated, overlooked, angry, misinterpreted, and taken for granted. We might even feel sad and depressed, particularly if being misunderstood is a constant and we do nothing to help remedy the situation.
How can we work on improving both our ability to understand others and make it easier for them to understand us? Much of the following recommendations follow a commonsense approach, yet there may be some new angles to consider.
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