PSYCH 201 Rationale for Choosing to Listen to My Grandmother Essay

We viewed this video in class, but to do well on this project, I encourage you to re-watch Ronnie Polaneczky’s TEDx video entitled “The Power of Deliberate Listening,” which can be viewed below:  

After reviewing the video, your mission is to become a “Listening Ninja,” as Polanesczky describes. This will be accomplished by:

1. Locating someone you know who has an opinion or idea you find ridiculous, crazy, or just plain wrong*
2. Spending about 20-30 minutes engaged in deliberate listening “with compassion, without judgment, and with an open heart.”
3. Offering them attentive silence;
4. Asking them questions from a place of curiosity rather than judgment; and
5. Paraphrasing their words to ensure you understand what they are trying to say.

Once you have completed your 20-30 minutes of deliberate listening, you will complete and turn in a project that demonstrates reflection on the experience of practicing the difficult task of listening without needing to be right!

Step One: Decide Upon how to Conduct Your “Listening Ninja” Mission

• Identify the person you want to deliberately listen to and plan when, where, and how that conversation will take place.
  • Be very intentional about why you chose your person.
    • In your reflection, you will need to provide a rationale for why you chose this particular person.
    • You might consider both content [what viewpoint(s) they hold that you might have a hard time hearing] and relationship (how important it might be to work at improving your connection with them).
    • Keep in mind that this is not a debate (nor even a discussion, exactly) — it is an opportunity for them to express themselves and for you to practice the difficult task of listening without needing to be right.

Step Two: Carry Out Your “Listening Ninja” Mission

• Sit down* with your person for this conversation and do your best to listen deliberately, “with compassion, without judgment, and with an open heart.” (*You can decide whether this is in-person, over Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, over the phone, or by some other means.)
  • As you are listening, take mental notes about how the experience goes:
    • What challenges do you encounter?
    • What listening skills are most useful?
    • What is it like to listen in this way (i.e., differently than you normally would, outside of this project)?
    • How does the other person seem to feel or respond to your “listening ninja” efforts?
    • How did you feel at the beginning? During the conversation? Afterward?

Step Three: Reflect on Your “Listening Ninja” Mission

• After listening to your chosen person, take some time to reflect on the experience and let your insights sink in.
  • Consider questions like:
    • What “bad” listening habits (or barriers to good listening) came up for you? How did you cope with or overcome them so you could deliberately listen to the person you selected?
    • What perceptual shortcuts were you using in forming your opinion about this person (or their ideas) before you began your conversation? Have those perceptions changed?
    • What have you learned about the other person and their perspective?
    • Did you notice a difference in your willingness or ability to listen once you better understood their position?
    • What did you do differently as a “listening ninja” that you do not typically do when someone has a perspective with which you disagree?
    • What kinds of listening responses were most helpful during your conversation?
    • How do your perceptions of people (generally) affect how you interact with them?
    • What have you learned about what it takes to communicate effectively with people who might be different from you?

Step Four: Document Your “Listening Ninja” Mission

• Create an artifact that documents your mission and demonstrates your learning. Whatever creative element you choose, be sure it adequately covers all aspects of the grading rubric (below).
  • Your artifact might be a/an:
    • Mental road map tracking where you started, ended up, and how you got there. Use pictures and some writing to explain the details of your mission, including the results.
    • Investigative or diagnostic report. Imagine yourself as a private detective uncovering your hidden biases or as a medical doctor diagnosing your blind spots. Include a “treatment” or “response” plan that shows your growth.
    • Video with footage or photos from your mission and some narration or reflection to document what you learned.
    • Comic book that tracks your actions and thoughts during this mission
    • Diary or journal-entry style paper that details your mission and your new understandings or insights
    • PowerPoint slide presentation (must show creativity and insight – audio and/or video strongly suggested as accompaniment to the slideshow)

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