This final week of March is a chance to reflect on your paraphrasing skills. Take a moment to reconsider the fundamental principles that are taught in the Cognitive Coaching Seminars® related to paraphrasing:

Attend fully.

Listen with the intention to understand.

Capture the essence of the message.

Reflect the essence of voice tone and gestures.

Make the paraphrase shorter than the original statement.

Paraphrase before asking a question.

Use the pronoun “you,” instead of “I.”

This week make a commitment to yourself to consciously paraphrase in all of your interactions. Stop once a day and write down your observations. What do you notice about your own efforts to paraphrase? How do they affect the way you listen? How do your paraphrases affect those with whom you are communicating? What patterns are you noticing in your thought processes as you deliberately paraphrase?