How to Listen So People Can Think

Place

Producing a physical environment – the room, the listener, your body – that says, ‘You matter’

When the physical environment affirms our importance, we think more clearly and boldly.
When our bodies are cared for and respected, our thinking improves.

Thinking Environments are places that say back to people, ‘You matter.’ People think at their best when they notice that the place reflects their value to the people there and to the event.

And because the first place of thinking is the body, it needs to be in a condition that says to us as thinkers, ‘You matter’.

In these ways, Place is a silent form of appreciation.


— TimeToThink.com
Interrelated components 

Place

Each component of a Thinking Environment can impact the presence of the others.
For example, a warmly welcoming place is an act of Appreciation.
Long, rectangular tables may undermine Equality.
A Place with distractions (noise, passers-by, outside events) impairs Attention. 
If the body is not in good shape because of, say, illness, pain, discomfort, hunger or overeating, cold, heat or exhaustion, thinking becomes sluggish or impossible and Attention and Ease suffer.

The loud voice of Place

Open-plan offices are a physical expression of ‘Don’t think here’. Interruption results in slower work and more mistakes. For any work that requires thinking, Place needs to enable uninterrupted time. 
Opening up

More Resources

'How to Listen so People Can Think' (free download), pp. 115-125 includes a list of suggestions for how to make the Place signal 'You matter'.

Spot the missing component

To create a full Thinking Environment, all components need to be present. When the Thinking Environment is not what it should be, here are things to look out for when it comes to Place.

  • Is the place welcoming? 

  • Does the place signal equality?

  • Are you sure to be free from interruptions?

  • Are any refreshments likely to enable thinkers to sustain attention?

If the place is not immediately welcoming, what can you do to make people feel that they matter? Greeting? Any small refreshment? Flowers? The possibilities are more or less endless.