Blog Post #1

Last semester I had the privilege of taking a listening class. You would be surprised just how much importance listening has on your success. We touched on in it our reading, but Listening is a trait that not many take seriously. Our book refers to listening as a stance that you take, stating listening is “Passive or active, or as skills in need of development” (Warren and Fassett P.65) making it more than just the physiological aspect of listening. When you choose to listen with your entire being, you become receptive to things you wouldn't only get from the physiological side of listening. I believe you can listen without the physiological aspect. If you have ever seen the movie A Quiet Place, you'll know that most of the movie's conversations are done through sign language. Which raises the question, can you listen without there being something to listen to? This to me, is a perfect example of what listening can be. You can also listen to more than just people's voices, which may seem like an odd thing to think about, but the book really painted listening in a way that is almost a new way of thinking, something that just adds to your communication depth.

 When you switch to active listening, you will notice the change it will have on your relationships as well as your work environment. People crave being heard, and when you can sincerely give that to someone, you're almost offering them a gift they will want to return, almost creating a cycle of better listeners. Also, when you become an engaged listener, people will also trust you with more which can help in your work life to be successful. I've noticed in my work life that when after practicing active listening, my manager has begun to give me more growth opportunities at work.  I'm a big fan of active listening and I think it's an incredible tool to begin implementing more in our culture.

Speaking of culture, this also plays a part in the way we listen. I had never thought of culture playing that much of a role in my listening process, but it does. I’m from Hawaii and my culture is heavily influenced by Asian culture. When it comes to cultural manners, listening is a major part of what my family deems as respectful. Growing up, for my grandparents to feel as if I were fully listening to them, I was meant to stop what I was doing, and minimally make eye contact with them. As I got older, I noticed that people responded well to me when I did that, which led me to believe that’s what a good listener was. I also noticed that the more I nodded and made small interjections, people would engage deeper. I am by no means a great listener, in fact, like we discussed in class, it’s like I learned the tricks to “appear” like I was listening, though I rarely was.

Listening is one of those things that you never think about, everyone does it, but hardly anyone is a master of it if any. I believe that listening is a tool that we could all use a bit more and be more sincere about it. Creating a new culture around listening could really make a big difference in not only the academic world but our relationships as well.