Exploring the Transformative Power of Listening

Listening heals, listening connects, listening attracts. Listening is a foundation skill for deepening any relationship. It’s relatively easy to read or take a class on listening skills and understand how to listen without judgment, yet it’s difficult to practice consistently.

On October 19th I’ll be presenting on “Transformative Listening” in Sarasota. (information below). To prepare I read many articles and viewed talks and found the following presentations on profound listening. I want to share them with you. Each comes from a different, and, I think inspiring, perspective.

“The Power of Listening.” A TEDx video with William Ury, founder of the Harvard Program on Negotiation, co-author of “Getting to Yes”, and with ex-president Jimmy Carter, founder of the International Negotiation Network. Ury gives how-to’s and shares a dramatic example from his own experience listening to the president of Venezuela. http://owl.li/SHcPY

“Tell Me More: On the fine art of listening.” A beautiful article by Brenda Ueland, best known for her book “If You Want To Write: A book about art, independence, and spirit.” It starts, “I want to write about the great and powerful thing that listening is. And how we forget it. And how we don’t listen to our children, or those we love. And least of all — which is so important too — to those we do not love. But we should. Because listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. Think how the friends that really listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius as though it did us good, like ultraviolet rays. http://owl.li/SHyFj

“The Power of Listening - An Ancient Practice for Our Future.” A TEDx video with Leon Berg, a founder of the Ojai Foundation. He tells stories from the practice of Council, the practice of listening and speaking from the heart. that he has taught world wide, including a moving story from his work in a reconciliation project with Arabs and Jews. http://owl.li/SHbib

Deep listening creates empathy and intimacy. In this presentation by Phyllis Mufson you’ll learn a subtle but powerful technique to listen and be present to someone’s essence, as well as their words.