I was thinking this evening walking to the train about how someone had commented that the moring speaker at the Symposium was “great but did not talk about communication.” I think that’s not quite correct. If we think back to the stories he related, they were all basically about LISTENING, a pretty important part of communicating. In the end listening is probably more than half of communicating. Communicating is not just what we say and how we say it, it’s what we hear and how we’re heard. Think how different BLSCI would be were it’s name “The Bernard L. Schwartz Speaking Institute.”
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CAC.OPHONY is a weblog on communication-intensive instruction at the college level and its implications for students about to face the challenges of writing and speaking publicly in professional settings. CAC.OPHONY is written and edited by the Fellows of the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Baruch College, City University of New York.
Baruch College is the 2008 recipient of TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award in recognition of the Schwartz Institute's outstanding faculty development programs.
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Although I wasn’t at the Symposium this year, I appreciate reading about the takeaways and observations. I concur with Ryan about the importance, and often underrated skill of listening in the communications process — the critical role of hearing as well as being heard. To me, the art of focused listening is the keystone in verbal communications.
If we aren’t afraid to listen more than we speak and ask high-value questions — probing questions, hypothetical questions, reflective questions — questions that require others to think before answering, conversation might actually be more engaging that it sometimes is.
The art of being an active listener and a formidable questioner is, in my opinion, a powerful combination.
Reply to Diane @ EOC