An important consideration when trying to really listen to what people are saying.
AI and even transcriptionists can make this error when capturing speech. We have to maintain objectivity and perspective to make sure we aren’t introducing our perspective in our efforts to capture an authentic voice.
This week’s email is about a common mistake that people make when trying to see things from someone else’s perspective.
The information here comes from the Effectiviology article about a related fallacy.
Here are the key practical points you should know:
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Confusion of standpoints (or intersubjective confusion) occurs when someone fails to realize that the way they perceive an event might be different from how others perceive it.
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For example, this can happen when someone assumes that because they thought that talking to someone else was stressful, then the person they were talking to must have also thought that talking was stressful.
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This form of egocentric reasoning can happen because people project their own perspective directly onto others.
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To avoid this, remind yourself that other people’s perception of events can be different from yours, identify differences between you and others (e.g., in terms of background) that could lead to differences in perception, and consider specifically how others might have perceived events differently than you.
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It can also help to remind yourself of previous cases where you wrongly assumed that someone’s perception was identical to yours, and to ask other people questions that make it clear what they actually think.
In addition, you can use these techniques to help someone else avoid this fallacious pattern of thinking. For instance, you can ask them to consider specific ways in which others may have perceived events differently than they did, and help them think about specific factors that could lead to these differences in perception.