The Sacred Art of Listening

As a Dean, a Diversity Professional, a Pastor, and a former Social Worker I’ve had my share of difficult conversations. In fact, I usually had a few every week. Mediating conflict, conduct violations, racial slurs, domestic and sexual abuse, child neglect and suicidal ideations. You name it, I’ve sat with it. So, I’ve tried to get really good at listening. When you really listen to someone with your eyes and your ears (90% of our communication is nonverbal)*, you often hear the things that lie beneath the words. Tone, pitch, rate, gestures, facial expressions, volume, and posture all tell us something about what the other person is trying to communicate.…