In my work in the field of story, narrative, strategy and systemic change, there’s a topic that I don’t think gets nearly the amount of attention it deserves: listening. Stories are inherently social. We construct them and convey them in a social process that involves telling and listening, in constant flow and exchange. Yet we tend to focus overwhelmingly on the telling, and not the listening part. This is even more so when the intention is to use stories instrumentally, to change others’ minds or influence their behaviour. When the idea of listening comes up in this context, it’s either about how to get audiences to listen to us, or it’s treated like research - such as ‘social listening’ which is used to track and analyze conversations on social media.
Very good article Brett. Real listening is something very few people do. People often just jump in and give advice without really hearing where the other person is coming fromI have signed up to receive more articles like this.. Thankyou
Brilliant article! You raise an excellent - albeit a bit uncomfortable - point here, thank you!
Very good article Brett. Real listening is something very few people do. People often just jump in and give advice without really hearing where the other person is coming fromI have signed up to receive more articles like this.. Thankyou