The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention… A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.
~ Rachel Naomi Remen
Welcome to Listening Workshop V.2023.
Colin Smith and I are getting together again to offer a space where we can train nonjudgmental listening.
Many things can be learned by reading and writing and giving and receiving feedback in the dialogues we have with our articles and comments. But reading and writing wouldn’t be a great way to learn to swim. Partly because swimming requires that at least one person gets wet. Partly because by the time a lifesaving comment filtered through the systems, the student might have drowned.
Likewise, listening and communicating with empathy are skills that are hard to learn except in real-time. It doesn’t have to be face-to-face in the same room, though. I think many of us have experienced that in the small groups on Our Friendship Bench or in other Zoom gatherings over the last three years.
From many of Colin’s articles and some of mine, you can see what this is all about:
- Feeling curiosity rather than judgment about the other person.
- Giving feedback on how what is said and how it is said lands with you.
- Getting feedback on how what is said and how it is said lands with others.
- Increasing emotional awareness and literacy.
- Getting comfortable with silence.
- Realizing how much of what we hear is influenced by prior experiences.
There will be a little theory and “handouts”, but mainly we plan “facilitated swimming” by mutually sharing in small groups/pairs based on prompts.
The format we have in mind is to meet for one hour Wednesday, May 10th and 17th, 4 pm-5 pm UTC+1, 11 am-12 pm EDT, 8 am-9 am PDT, with a possibility of expanding with more weeks and/or longer sessions over the summer.
Ready to come swimming with us? Register below↴
