I put my hand over my mouth a lot.
I’m an educated extroverted educator (say that three times fast). I have a lot to say and typically am surrounded by students who pay to hear my knowledge and advice. I spend the majority of my days talking.
This is the opposite of when I was a full-time journalist. As a journalist, I spent the majority of my days listening to sources. Sure, I asked questions, but mostly I listened—at least I think I did.
I always considered myself a good interviewer. In retrospect, I wonder if I did an adequate job of listening to sources and really hearing what they said.
Active listening is something I attempt to train student journalists to do. I also attempt to mirror it for them. This means really hearing what my students say. It also means resting my hand over my mouth when I feel the desire to talk before it’s really time.
Lolly Daskal, author of the Lead from Within blog and hostess of a Twitter chat with the same name, touched on this concept in her post, The Art of Listening.
Most people listen with the goal of responding, but listening is really about silence, Lolly wrote.
I often find myself wanting to respond. I have to remind myself to be silent.
Lolly also reminded her readers that listening means not judging, questioning or attempting to fix.
Listening, and truly understanding, is a difficult skill learned only through active practice. It’s also a skill that’s critical for journalists to master.
