
1. Listening Deeply
Recordings + Live Group Sessions

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About this course
Summary
Listening deeply is a powerful skill. Most people don’t realize they are listening at the surface, so the experience doesn’t seem to shift anything. This course teaches depth.
Do you know how to get past the surface to listen at depth?
Listening has so many applications: developing relationships, forming rapport, connecting with people, seeing new perspectives. While these may sound too mystical to apply in your org, any hope of improving support for people, teamwork, or leadership is rooted in being able to shape relationships. Listening is the foundation for inclusivity, new market opportunities, and powerful team efficiency. I make sure professionals have the skills to wield the empathetic mindset when they are feeling confronted by someone who has different values. If a professional has the awareness to recognize then they are reacting, judging, or being triggered, they can hit the mental pause button and decide what to do next.
The empathetic mindset does not mean you have to feel warmth for another person. The words “understand” and “comprehend” do not mean “adopt” or “agree with.”
It may seem counter-intuitive to take time to listen when you want to solve, but it’s foundational. In product & service design, listening deeply allows you to learn other people’s thinking and approaches to the purposes your organization intends to support. It is the path to discovering whole new markets and opportunities. To this point, listening deeply is the way to create a mental model diagram or thinking styles. These let you consider how well you are helping people achieve their purpose using an approach matched to them. Listening is the key.
You will learn how to:
- Identify the ways you already listen
- Discern surface from depth when you are listening
- Start a listening session & recognize when it’s over
- Develop rapport & trust with the speaker
- Get past the surface to depth
- Prepare for formal research studies
- Deal with uncooperative or aggressive speakers
Course Features:
- Downloadable diagrams & learning tools
- Exercises and practice during the live group sessions
- Counts toward Certficate of Problem Space Research
- Slack workspace membership
Looking for the Demo Listening Sessions? Click here!
Prerequisites
- none
Recommended reading
- Essay – Tour Guide – An Analogy for Listening
- Essay – When You Listen, What Are You Thinking?
- Essay – Listening Deeply
- Essay – Eavesdropping
- Essay – Surprise Differences
- Recent Presentations by Indi
- Recent Podcast Guest Appearances by Indi
Who is this for?
If you are a researcher, a listening session is very different than an interview. Learn how to let the participant direct the conversation and how to encourage the participant to uncover a trio of concept types that provide the richness of understanding you need in your data.
If you are a leader or team member, listening deeply is how you build relationships, giving other people the gift of feeling heard. By understanding their guiding principles, you are able to collaborate more effectively, with less strife and misunderstanding.
Learning paths for different roles

Sign up
Recordings + Live Group Sessions
Group A: 18 places left
Group B: 18 places left
Which group is right for my schedule?
Regular
When your organization will cover the cost, e.g. your employer is paying
Price per individual: US $776.00
Choose your group:
10:30am San Francisco time
5:30pm San Francisco time
Govt / Military / Non-profit
When a government, military, or non-profit organization is covering your education cost
Price per individual: US $582.00
Choose your group:
10:30am San Francisco time
5:30pm San Francisco time
Out-of-Pocket
When you will NOT be reimbursed for the cost by anyone
Price per individual: US $388.00
Choose your group:
10:30am San Francisco time
5:30pm San Francisco time
Extreme Currency Exchange
Not in the US? When your purchasing power is at an extreme disadvantage to the US dollar, we offer much bigger discounts. We want to include folks in Brazil, India, Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, etc.
Price per individual: US $80.00
Choose your group:
10:30am San Francisco time
5:30pm San Francisco time
Pricing for Teams
Discounts from the Regular price level are available for groups/teams attending the class together.
Contact us to enroll your team:
Previous start dates
6-Apr-22 | 28-Oct-20 | 31-Jul-19 | 10-Oct-18 | 6-Jun-18