Listening skills and Bohm Dialogue - 4 week online learning journey

85% of what we know, we have learned through listening* 

Listening is a foundational value, skill and practice. We all possess the capacity to listen but that capacity remains largely untapped as few of us have learned to truly cultivate it. Research suggests that a scarce two percent of people are effectively skilled in active listening despite the fact that listening is as essential as speaking. Not only does it allow us to detect areas where our knowledge is incomplete, and to surface important questions for co-enquiry, but also to strengthen trust and healthy relationships.

In this four-part online learning journey we will explore and practice the three modes of listening in a Bohm Dialogue practice - how we listen to ourselves, how we listen to others, and how we listen to the world around us. Grounded in a Whole Body Listening approach, this Learning Journey is for anyone that wants to improve how they communicate and relate with themselves and others, and develop listening skills that can be applied in both personal and professional contexts. 

It was a great mix of learning about new concepts and then practically getting to try them out in a very welcoming safe space.

Jessica designed the course wonderfully. It was very well thought out. We moved from each module with ease. The additional course material in the follow-up emails offered so much more information on the topics covered, and was very helpful for further context into what we were learning. 

- Feedback from previous Learning Journey participant

We will co-inquire into different aspects essential for listening well and improving listening skills, including:

• Intention - Get clear on the intentions we bring when we prepare ourselves to listen to someone.
• Need or purpose - Explore the qualities of listening and response required by the person we are listening to.
• Conditions - Identify what conditions enable or prevent us from listening well.
• Whole-body listening - Understand how our emotions impact our feelings, thoughts and actions, often creating habitual ways of listening and thinking.
• Judgements & Assumptions - Learn to suspend judgement, in order to listen beyond labels and preconceptions and acknowledge assumptions and biases.
• Curiosity - Cultivate the qualities of openness and receptivity that support non-judgement and the practice of co-inquiry.
• Critical, creative and systemic thinking - Improve thinking skills by listening to understand and value diverse perspectives improve self-awareness.

The sessions will take place on Zoom, and are designed to be participatory, including the use of breakouts for partner and small group activities. All sessions will be recorded and made available to participants. Additionally, an activity resource will also be shared with participants, to help deepen the experience. On completion of the Learning Journey, participants will be invited to a quarterly online meeting to reconnect to the practices covered, and share experiences and reflections.

Session outline

• Session 1 - Listening to self, Wednesday 4th November, 7pm - 9pm 
• Session 2 - Listening to others, Wednesday 11th November, 7pm - 9pm 
• Session 3 - Listening to the group, Wednesday 18th November, 7pm - 9pm 
• Session 4 - Group dialogue - putting the skills into practice, Wednesday 25th November, 7pm - 9pm

Great combination of online group discussions, breakout rooms and Jessica's presentation. This varied levels of involvement made for a very engaging learning experience.

Very valuable 4-week course which has helped further my understanding of dialogue and interpersonal communication in general. Highly recommended.

- Feedback from previous Learning Journey participant

Further resources

• 3 modes of listening in a dialogue, explainer video https://youtu.be/9s58q-V5_g4?si=X_V1K9czdlrXHaR9
• 3 modes of listening in a dialogue, blog https://www.creatingmeaning.club/blog-1-copy-1/the-3-ways-we-listen-in-bohm-dialogue
• Bohm Dialogue and the Body, video podcast https://youtu.be/jNy7SONyiq4?si=XSMXRAAtGEzixLAr
• *Active Listening Statistics https://gitnux.org/active-listening-statistics/

A note on pricing
I believe that the world urgently needs more dialogue, and that the experience and skills of dialogue should be accessible to anyone. I keep my public facing dialogue workshops as low-cost as possible. 

• I have two bursary places available for this Learning Journey. If you would like to attend but cost is a barrier please get in touch and share a little bit about why you would like to join jessica@creatingmeaning.club
• If you are an organisation and would like to explore how dialogue could benefit you, you can find further information here: https://www.creatingmeaning.club/