The Art of Listening

 I’m glad that we had an article about interviews to read. Frankly, I find the whole interview process really intimidating, but the article had some really good points to make. It seems so simple to think about: listening. But, as others have mentioned before, it’s easy to get trapped in other thoughts during interviews (technical issues, your list of questions, etc) when really, all it’s about is actually listening to the person. Another thing I think is funny is that the techniques described for interviewing are basic communication technique you are taught in psychology, communication, and workshop facilitation classes. In the facilitation seminar I took my sophomore year, my instructor really emphasized the whole listening and summarizing. This is also a technique used in psychology courses, specifically where you are being taught how to communicate better with someone: it’s all about actually listening to someone (rather than simply waiting for your turn to speak) and summarizing what YOU heard back to them in order for them to clarify whether you are actually understanding what they meant to say to you. Since these techniques are usually taught as tools for tense situations like conflict resolution between partners or facilitating workshops on subjects such as queer issues, I was initially confused that these techniques were being described as good interviewing techniques. Although interviews are a two-way communication process, I did not previously think of them as something that needed facilitating: like a conflict or a social justice workshop. But I guess thinking about it more it makes sense because these are good skills to practice just to communicate, period. Even in daily life, these help a lot. I guess it’s pretty simple: to be a good interviewer you have to start by being a good communicator.

The second article was fantastic! I did not think I would be so intrigued by the topic. It further solidified my want to use a slam poet for my first project. There is so much to be said, learned, and captured from daily, non-fiction life. Although poetry is a performance and can be fictional, I think it is still a very personal account of a person (depending on the poem). Also, poems don’t have to be fictional and the slam poems I’ve seen/heard usually aren’t. Furthermore, the fact that a slam poem is a creation that came straight from an individual makes it that much more intimate in my opinion. I have always loved poetry and I think slam poetry is unique because it is not just about the words, but the perform as well. In other words – the sound of it truly matters. A regular poem that looks good on paper might not be a good slam poem and vice versa.

I think StoryCorps does a wonderful job of documenting important history of simple people. Someone previously mentioned that this article made them realize what their focus in the class is going to be and I feel the same way. I think sound is a great way to capture these small but fundamental bits of life that often go unnoticed. I may not necessarily stick to StoryCorps’s way of doing things but the basic idea of giving a voice to those who often don’t have the opportunity to be heard or are silenced is what I entered this class with and this article has solidified my goals even more.