text: Chapter 3
  3-29. Soldiers should ensure information is accessible to all interagency members. This requires an
  understanding of the available communication processes, technologies, and potential barriers that could
  impede communication (such as security concerns, system and program compatibility, and connectivity
  issues). Military organizations should avoid unnecessarily classifying information that could be helpful to
  partners, especially when the information originally belonged to other agencies.
  3-30. Key strategies for improving communication include—
  * Using a common lexicon of terms among interagency partners, since many terms can be
  misinterpreted or have slightly different meanings (such as assessment and targeting) across the
  different agencies.
  * Avoiding the use of acronyms or terms that may not be familiar to all interagency members,
  since this may cause confusion or feelings of exclusion.
  * Practicing suitable ways to share information based on the context and the intended audience.
  For example, it may be better to discuss certain subjects informally with a limited audience
  (outside a group meeting) or to bring up other subjects in front of all members of the group.
  * Engaging in active listening.
  Active Listening
  3-31. No communications skill is more important than listening. Active listeners keep judgments in check
  while the other person is speaking. They listen to understand before they respond. Interagency group
  members take notes or write down points for clarification while another person is talking to ensure they
  capture important details of the message and are not distracted by counterarguments.
  3-32. Active listeners restate and paraphrase the message they heard to help confirm they perceive it
  correctly. When working with interagency partners Soldiers ask open-ended questions to gain more
  information about the topic. This active listening gives the listener more insight into the speaker’s
  perspective and viewpoint on the discussion.
  3-33. Active listeners pay attention to the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the message and the culture from
  which the speaker comes. For example, the manner and urgency in which a message is presented provides
  useful information. If the speaker leans forward and looks the listener in the eye, then the speaker probably
  tells the truth.
  Understanding the Perspectives of Others
  3-34. A key strategy to increase understanding of others is known as social perspective taking. In the
  discipline of social psychology, social perspective taking refers to methodically trying to understand what
  others are thinking and feeling and how their points of view differ from one’s own. Social perspective
  taking includes approaches individuals can use to improve understanding of others, including the
  motivations for their behaviors. Soldiers who successfully engage in social perspective taking (also called
  perspective taking) can see situations from another’s point of view and recognize the issues, challenges,
  and situations relevant to the actors involved. This understanding increases Army leaders’ ability to
  interpret, predict, and coordinate interagency behavior.
  3-35. Perspective taking has several benefits for Soldiers working with interagency partners. Perspective
  taking can help Army leaders become aware of how their own organization and its cultural norms are
  perceived by individuals from partner agencies. Since many interpersonal friction points within an
  interagency stem from organizational and communication differences, being aware of one’s own cultural
  norms and potential biases, and how others perceive them, may help Soldiers anticipate and avoid
  unnecessary issues.
  3-36. Soldiers who recognize that others may view a situation differently become more aware of and open-
  minded to differing or competing ideas. Perspective taking has also been shown to improve communication
  and facilitate negotiations and conflict resolution. Skilled perspective takers resort to stereotyping less
  often.
  3-37. People are social beings. They naturally try to determine the reasons for others’ behavior. Often,
  people tend to use their experiences, beliefs, assumptions, and value systems as a frame of reference. This