Listen, the Questions Will Find You
Now more than ever, when causes to raise our voices and speak out are so strong, it’s hard to fall back and recommend something like… listening. But I’m convinced listening is power and it is strategic.
When you listen, it can simply be to how a summer breeze moves through leaves. It re-trains your awareness to what is immediately around you. It is a blessing to be able to do this in places where there are no human sounds.
For those of us listening among humans, I suggest a different approach.
When you listen, do so to engage rather than listen to rush hurriedly in and add what you want to say in response. Remove the urgency to state your position. Psychology terms this “listening to understand” vs. “listening to respond.”
As a self-taught podcast producer, I’ve spent a year and a half really listening to my guests and what they want to share. We pre-plan their episode in advance, but we also work together on making their stories come alive through the questions I ask them. It is a collaboration.
Occasionally, I respond to their stories with my own experiences but much more often and in the moment, I’ll find and ask questions that take them deeper into their own experiences. I listen on behalf of my listeners, feel for my gut urges, and follow my curiosity about the obvious. I navigate my gut feelings which mostly manifest as a physical sensations in my body.
What You Listen To Doesn’t Have to Be Immediately Relevant
In this time of great uncertainty, lack of imagination and empathy, I believe listening is a path to finding ways through some of our deepest challenges. It is incredibly hard to do at times. Practice listening to grow your awareness of others’ experiences. Best of all, listening will lead you to the questions you need to answer most so you can find your own path through. By listening, you can become a voice for what matters most to you.
Here is a taste of the wisdom my guests have shared and some of the questions I’ve asked and pondered in response. Perhaps they will help you too.
