Habit 5 seek first to understand then to be understood communication is the most important skill in life communicate effectively at all levels by listening to understand as opposed to listening to simply reply. Habit 5 seek first to understand then to be understood communication is the most important skill in life you spend years learning how to read and write and years learning how to speak. The fifth habit of stephen coveys the 7 habits of highly effective people seek first to understand then to be understood is also the first step in the process of last weeks 4 th habit think win win it involves asking ourselves not only what we want from a given situation but also what the other party wants. This post is the fifth in a series summarizing the book the 7 habits of highly effective people im breaking the book down into 7 posts one blog post per habit and publishing one per week today im covering habit 5 seek first to understand then be understood this is the second habit in the book