In order to really listen to other people and hear what they’re saying, first we have to clear the ground of some myths. Today, I will focus on the myth of objectivity and impartiality.

Webster’s definition of objectivity is lack of favoritism.

We might be willing to admit that we’re biased towards our employer or our client. But what we don’t see is our bias towards our “team”. You might be asking, “What team do you mean? I don’t belong to a team!”

Yes, you do.
Just because you’re in marketing or advertising doesn’t change that you’re human. As humans, we all have a need to belong to a group. That group identification affects our perceptions of what is true and accurate. Research has shown that people in a group misidentify the length of a line or the color of an item when the people around lead the way. When they do so, people don’t recognize they’re doing so. In fact, they disavow it—just as you’re probably doing right now.
Believe it or not, which group you belong to affects which part of your brain you access and when. It affects the very structure of your belief system (more about that in a later post).
Stay tuned. There are more myths and barriers coming. If you want to learn to really listen, please subscribe to my blog.