On Listening and Journalism…

 On Listening and Journalism…

On Listening…

I thought I would share a take-off on Mimi’s recently featured post, ‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ Something that happened to me this week and yes, at 60, we can still have ah-ha moments!! In fact, I feel we’re never too old to capture those ah-ha moments.

We thought social media was a great thing until users stopped listening and began lashing out, hiding behind the safety of their keyboards. Users scream, demean and bully at every turn and it really does seem to be getting worse. Besides ‘unfriending’ and blocking the offenders, what are we to do to avoid the unnecessary drama that is in front of us 24/7?

On Listening and Journalism…

I have often commented that I feel journalism is a lost art. It seems we are faced, not with news but, with opinions - and some pretty strong ones too. I actually stopped watching the news for awhile because I couldn’t bear hearing the slant - either way - I just want the TRUTH, the FACTS and nothing more - certainly not the conjectures!

Being in real estate, we live in a world that truth matters, numbers (the RIGHT, factual ones) matter, honesty & integrity MATTER in all that we do. Sure, not all Realtors® abide by our Code of Ethics but, we are mandated to sit for those classes every couple of years. It’s up to US to listen and soak up the rules and regulations in our CoEs. Why don’t journalists have this same requirement in their profession?

I digress! The point in sharing all of that is this - I started watching the news again. My favorite part of the news is always the last ‘heartwarming’ story which makes me wish that news channels would realized that most people do enjoy hearing GOOD news, rather than twisted bad news!

I often work while the news is on or I’m cooking dinner at the same time. I don’t look at the TV, I merely LISTEN. I challenge you to try it. After years of doing this and resuming ‘watching’ (a.k.a. LISTENING), I noticed that my husband and I, being in the same room when the news is on, were left with a totally different interpretation of many of the news stories.

The best example happened recently and reading Mimi’s post, made me think, I really do need to share my challenge with the world!

Ray and I were watching the news - he WATCHING, while I was LISTENING (not even LOOKING at the TV). I could easily tell which political persuasion each speaker was and I could also HEAR the slant to which the questions were asked, based on the political persuasion of the questioner.  And, because of being able to listen to the question, the answers were interpreted differently than had I simply been watching the interviews. 

We actually disagreed on what was said during a couple of stories and when we rewound the story and re-listened. There really is something to be said about the age-old belief that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason! In recent antics on social media, one could say the same thing about two eyes and mouth...but, I'm not going there! 

I think about what I do when talking to someone - I look at their eyes; if their eyes are striking, I think that their eyes are striking. I can also ’see’ deception that I don’t think everyone can ‘see’ when looking into the eyes of others. I look at their teeth — who doesn’t love a great smile?

So, I notice people’s teeth; if they are gleaming white and perfectly positioned, I think, “WOW! Now, that’s a beautiful smile!”  Do you see where I’m going with this? When we WATCH, we are often distracted by the people, the background (“Oh, they’re in New York and it’s snowing there!”) OR we may be keenly aware of their body language. 

The point is, we are seriously distracted when we watch. However, when we give all of our energy to hearing the conversation/interview and listening intently, I think we actually hear the REAL story. 

It takes a special person to actually HEAR and to even go beyond that - LISTEN. Listening to what others are saying is something most people simply don't to take the time to do. I have found that recently with my husband’s journey through a very serious illness. I know which medical practitioners are listeners and which are just giving you the fake smile and not hearing a word you’re saying. 

Perhaps they are not listening because they are smitten with my smile! LOL

Seriously, thank you for the inspiration for this post, Mimi Foster! 

© Debe Maxwell | The Maxwell House Group | RE/MAX Executive | CharlotteBroker@icloud.com | On Listening and Journalism…