Listening is a bit like a conversation between your heart and mind … and in its silence listening makes powerful sounds to the brain. It’s far more than the opposite of talking – which is waiting, not the creative force of listening. Henry David Thoreau said … “The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”
Listeners learn more because of the duel dance between words and wisdom. Researchers tell us listening occurs when a protein from the gene TRPA1 turns mechanical sound into electrical information for the brain to interpret. Steven Yantis, at John Hopkins University, also shows that unless the brain focuses on what it hears and interprets then far less activity is noted in areas of the brain related to hearing.
Research shows that …
1. Listening is critical to learning new skills …
2. People find it harder to hear than most people realize
3. Processing words we hear demands fuller attention than we tend to give
How then do we develop smart skills to hear sparks for reflection and growth? Research supports the idea that listen involves complete focus, attention to the views of the speaker, and then “attending to ideas heard,” by trying them out in some way.
How about groups or teams? Here is one team listening strategy I learn from the Inuit in the High Arctic, 600 miles north of the
First… pass a talking stick to each person at your roundtable. It can be any object that you choose for this purpose – the more meaningful the better.
Second … ask a significant question that relates to some common topic and interests the group. The question might be for instance, “Where to from here?”
Third … explain how only the one person holding the talking stick is able to speak, and encourage all others listen intently. The group turns spoken ideas into an action plan to show core conclusions expressed, and to motivate the brain to process and benefit from information heard.
What do you have to add? We’re all ears.
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