Record a conversation and verbally reflect* on your listening with a colleague, peer, or family member and THEN in your blog
This article resonated with me - there is so much to listening that is both passive and active, silent and audible. There's so much psychology and humanity behind listening.
I've been thinking so much about listening these past few weeks - not just for this class but in my personal life. I've also been practicing (sometimes in vain) the act of being a better listener. I know that I will need to improve my listening and processing skills in order to be and efficient and thoughtful change agent.
I got permission to record part of an informal Book club that I am part of. The members are both my colleagues and peers. I have worked in an academic setting with them and spent time socializing outside of school. Our relationship is based in, trust, fun and collaboration. And boy, do we love to talk.
I'm leaning into this and tossing out the awkwardness of watching myself. I also set out with the goal of a learning focused conversation in mind. I intentionally focused on the three alignment categories - physical, vocal and breathing. I felt like this was a good focus for me improving my listening in a semi- social setting.
While this was a casual conversation the goal was to discuss the novel we had all read. There was no protocol to follow or structure so the conversation was free flowing. I noticed my body language when I was listening, moving from one direction to another in order to truly focus on the speaker. My posture was attentive and my body language relaxed. I found myself working hard to make sure I did not talk too much and really tried to hear all the voices in the group. When I did speak my voice was measured and my word choice specific in order to connect to other thoughts being shared. And when my mind would wander I focused on bringing my attention to my breath (which I am familiar with doing) and then back to the conversation.
This was hard work. I found this to be exhausting and could not sustain this level of attentiveness for more than the planned 10 minute recording. However, I KNOW that my purposeful participation in the conversation provided me with more information than if I had approached it in a more casual (usual) way. I need to build my practice and stamina for listening
Mandy, you are so brave! Even in a low stakes setting I was too anxious to take on the task of recording a conversation for the purpose of analyzing it, bravo to you. You are demonstrating vulnerability in your own self reflection which is powerful, too.
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DeleteI appreciate your thoughtfulness and self reflection around listening, Mandy. It’s a lot to absorb and I felt relieved to know that we were all in the same boat and that my skills were not any worse than anyone else’s. I appreciate knowing there’s lots of room for improvement! The casual conversation you had with your book group sounds very much like you were approaching it as one with a yoga practice! It is hard work and exhausting but that’s why they call it practice. Thanks for sharing!
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