By Kai Degner, MBA 

One of the most powerful tools within Breakthrough Listening is the Five-Part Powerful Paraphrase, a structured template to ensure deep understanding and clarity in conversations.  This simple yet effective sentence structure allows leaders to reflect back what they hear in a way that makes the speaker feel truly understood.

When people express frustration, concerns, or uncertainty, they want more than just acknowledgment—they want to feel truly understood. The Five-Part Powerful Paraphrase ensures that listeners reflect back what they hear in a way that makes the speaker(s) feel fully heard. This structured approach moves beyond surface-level listening and helps uncover deeper emotions, motivations, and values behind a speaker’s concerns. This reduces miscommunication, deepens or broadens conversations, and builds trust. 

The Template: "So, you feel ____ about ____ because ____, is that right?"

Each part plays a crucial role in ensuring deep understanding and trust in the conversation:  

PART 1: Soft Start (Engagement Cue) opens the paraphrase in a non-threatening, neutral way.  

Examples: “So, you feel…” | “It sounds like you’re saying…” |
“I want to make sure I understand…” | “Let me check that I understand…”

Why it matters: A soft start reduces defensiveness and shows interest.

PART 2: Emotion/Feeling (Acknowledging How They Feel) identifies the core emotion(s) the speaker is expressing or highlighting - even if they do not explicitly say how/what they are feeling. 

Examples:  “…frustrated…” | “…disappointed…” | “…excited…” 

Why it matters: Naming emotions helps the speaker feel seen and validated.  

Tip: Some suggest there are four basic emotions:
Happiness, Sadness, Fear/Surprise, Anger/Disgust
Tip: Don’t need or want to emphasize emotion? Instead of “So, you feel…” try “So…
“...you’re interested in,” “...curious about,” or “...focused on…”

PART 3: Situation / Main Issue (Clarifying the Topic of Concern) summarizes what the concern is about—the specific situation or event causing their emotion.  

Examples:  “…about your workload…” | “…about the lack of communication in the team…”

Why it matters: This shows you heard the key issue, preventing misunderstandings.  

Tip: Just cover the basics, the main point. 

PART 4: Deeper Reason / Value (What’s Driving the Emotion?) gets to the underlying motivation, need, or value behind the speaker’s feeling(s), emotion(s), or interest(s).  

Examples:  “…because you want your contributions to be valued.”
“…because efficiency is really important to you.”
“…because consistency and fairness matter to you.”

Why it matters: Understanding why someone feels the way they do helps them feel fully heard and understood. Recognizing the deeper reason or value driving the emotions is often a breakthrough.

PART 5: Check-In by Asking (Confirmation & Invitation to Clarify Further) ensures accuracy and invites them to clarify, expand, or add new information.  

Examples: “Is that right?” | “Did I understand that correctly?” | “Am I missing anything?”
“Is that what you’re saying?”

Why it matters: This keeps the conversation open and allows for corrections, preventing misinterpretation. It also allows for the conversation to deepen and broaden.

By Kai Degner, MBA

Not all questions help others feel heard or keep a conversation flowing in a productive way. Some questions can disrupt the speaker’s natural conversational path—leading them to feel judged, misunderstood, or defensive.  To ensure questions support Breakthrough Listening, they should stay within the Question Safe Zone by focusing on one of the three blanks in the Five-Part Powerful Paraphrase.

The Template: "So, you feel ____ about ____ because ____, is that right?"

🟢 Emotion(s) – What the speaker is feeling  

🟢 Situation – The facts or events they are describing  

🟢 Deeper Reason(s) – What underlying value, concern, or belief is driving their emotion(s)  

When questions stay in these three areas, they help the speaker feel fully heard and understood.  

Example Safe Zone Questions for PQP

Asking About Emotion(s)

- How do you feel about that?  

- Would you say you’re more frustrated or sad? (Offer two relevant choices.)  

- What are some of the feelings or emotions you’re experiencing?  

Asking About the Situation (Facts & Events)

- Can you help me understand the most important part for you about what happened?  

- Can you say more about ____?  

- What was the most important part of the situation for you?  

Asking About the Deeper Reason(s)

- Why do you think you feel so strongly about this?  

- Can you help me understand more about why this is important to you?  

- What do you think causes your reaction to this?