How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 71

2. The ladder of Inference:
understanding how you think
Have you ever noticed what happens when you really listen to another person without
intending to respond? Perhaps not, because most of us listen only rarely. Usually what
we hear is received through many filters, including:
 Assumptions and biases.
 Resistances and barriers stemming from a different set of beliefs.
 Preoccupation with identifying areas of agreement with our own beliefs, and
the significance of such agreement.
 Thinking about how we will respond.
Sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate between what a person actually says and
how we interpret what they said. In other words, our own beliefs affect what and
how we hear.
Ladder of Inference
Business theorist Chris Argyris developed a model that explains our thinking process as
we interact with the world. According to this model, as we move up the ladder our
beliefs affect what we infer about what we observe and therefore become part of how we
experience our interaction with other people.