Have Time to Listen?

All of us love to be listened to. Think of the friend who actually laughs at your jokes. It makes you all the funnier and ready to share more.

However, most of us fall short in our listening skills. We only half-hear our kids in the background, rush through a social encounter, or avoid tackling personal situations that need attention. Learning to listen - not easy! Yet we all know the power of giving our full attention to another person. Norwegian-American writer Brenda Ueland explained, “When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.”

Sometimes we need a little help to make these important conversations happen. There may be someone you’ve been thinking about and wondering how to connect in a deeper, more satisfying way. There may be someone far away that you wonder if you will get to see them again. You might welcome an opportunity to engage them across the miles.

Since 2003, the non-profit StoryCorps has been collecting the stories of ordinary Americans and archiving them in the Library of Congress. The collection now holds over a 1/2 million forty-minute interviews conducted by volunteers who decided there was a story worth telling. The organization’s latest project, StoryCorps Connect, was put in place as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Using a digital platform, two individuals share an interview that can be recorded and submitted directly into the archive.

The StoryCorps website offers some excellent resources for would-be interviewers. They include a list of effective questions, tips on interviewing, and very clear instructions on how to set up the technology. All that is required is that both participants create a login for the StoryCorps website (see below). After opening the StoryCorp Connect Recording Page, you can send the link to the person being interviewed.

It is amazing what a small venture into listening might bring to life!

https://storycorps.org/participate/storycorps-connect/

https://traubman.igc.org/listenof.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-it/201312/the-gift-listening