Leaders and managers are often cautioned to "step into the other person's shoes" before committing to an action or advancing a solution in a negotiation.  Often the world looks very different from the other side of the question.

Looking at a problem from another's viewpoint often gives you ideas for alternative solutions or decisions.  It is very human to get locked into our own personal viewpoints.  When that happens, it is easy to miss a great solution simply because we have quit looking for alternatives.

When we are making decisions and/or participating in negotiations, we should be in the role of the "profiler".  We need to understand the other viewpoints so well that we can offer them back to the person across the table.  If we can confirm what the other person thinks and feels, we can often persuade them that we are listening to them; that we understand them.

Dr. Covey teaches "Indian Talking Stick Communications" where no one can have the floor until the person currently speaking feels valued and understood.  This is more than parroting back another's words.  It is truling feeling what the other's viewpoint means.  After that understanding , we may find that the gulf between viewpoints has considerably narrowed or has disappeared entirely.

Since our conscious brain is always at least a full half second behind the unconscious brain, it is essential to put that space before the response, so that the reply is reasoned and in-sync rather than just the knee-jerk "recorded" response of our brain on autopilot.

According to Verse 37* of the Tao, finding that space may just put you in touch with the "anchor of the universe".

"When there is silence
     one finds peace
When there is silence
     one finds the anchor of the universe within himself"

Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition, Lao Tzu with Translation and Commentary by Jonathan Star, Jeremy P Tarcher/Penguin, 2001, page 50