Student Listener

Thank you for your interest in our organization

We are often poor listeners
Today, we seem less tolerant of ideas we disagree with and are easily "triggered"
Social media has been damaging to human relationships and listening
Destructive forces desire to divide and to pit individuals against one another - they are succeeding

Humans are far more alike than they are different
Human nature really hasn't changed in thousands of years
Though flawed, every human is valuable and loveable
Human interaction is vital - we need each other
Freedom of thought and speech is vital
While conflict can be uncomfortable, is not inherently bad and is often based on a misunderstanding of the position of others and/or the rationale for their position
We can have different opinions and still have civil conversation -- and even be friends!
Face-to-face conversation is the most efficient way to arrive at common understandings
We are lifetime students of listening - there is much to learn from others

HOW? IN OUR PILOT STAGE WE ARE...

Generating ideas for successfully initiating conversations, and piloting those ideas
Generating useful "rules of engagement"

Safety First! Here are the current rules of engagement to make you feel welcome.

We don't need your last name, or even your real first name
There will be no photos, videos, or recordings of you or our conversation
There may be a few written notes to keep track of the sort of topics people bring up or to capture notes for future self-study

No Push-Back! Student Listeners will do their best not to push back against your opinions

We would like permission to ask "What" questions. These are for the purpose of making sure we understand what you are saying.
We would like permission to also ask "Why" questions. We would like to know why you are convinced your belief/position is reasonable.
Asking these questions doesn't mean we disagree! Even if we agree with your position, we might want stronger rationale and evidence for our own beliefs/positions.

Now is not our time to speak