One Mouth, Two Ears

"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." -Doug Larson??

Years ago, friends invited me to a workshop on “dialog,” a process that encourages better conversations through inquiry and listening. I didn’t realize it then, but that workshop was pivotal in beginning my exploration into what makes communication practical and impactful. After instruction and exercises in dialogic technique taught in?The Tao of Dialog by Doug Ross,?the result was a sense of completion - satisfaction that someone ultimately heard what I said.??

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I’ve not forgotten that feeling, and as our world seems to be more and more divisive and polarized, it’s been essential to me to help others see the value of listening to each other. It starts with inquiry . After all, the best way to get to know an audience is to listen to what’s important to them. In conversations, inquiry helps us eliminate many discussion-destroying assumptions. I believe that inquiry and enhanced listening can get us to a nobler place and destroy some divides.?

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For those reasons I joined Braver Angels . Started in 2016, Braver Angels uses a workshop-based approach to teach people how to have better conversations about important topics. It is the nation’s largest grassroots movement seeking to depolarize America. In the workshops I’ve attended I’ve been impressed with how people discover to express their views with passion but also with respect for others who may not agree with them. So, I am training to become a Moderator. Over and again, dedication and time spent thoroughly listening reveal that the reward is well worth the effort. We have more in common than we thought.?

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Check out our free e-book, Getting Beyond the Noise – useful tips and exercises for holding more meaningful conversations . (We don’t collect emails. It’s just free.)?

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What I am reading – I Never Thought of it That Way, by Monica Guzman. It’s a wonderfully honest, thoughtful and funny book about having “fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times.”?

What I am listening to – “While there is still time.” Music: Michele Brourman, Lyrics: Hillary Rollins, First place winner of the Braver Angels 2023 Song Contest. A beautiful, powerful, and timely song?

#Intention #Story #Presence #leadership #communicationimpact