Michael Gingerich and Tom Kaden are the Co-Founders and Co-Chief Encouragement Officers of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Someone To Tell It To, which helps the world to listen. They are podcast hosts, the authors of four books, bloggers, and public speakers on the art and science of listening.
Someone To Tell It To's teams of listeners have had more than 18,000 listening interactions during the past decade. We have trained over 800 people to be more intentional and relational listeners, as well. Not only do we listen in person to individuals, families, and groups of people, but we also listen to people virtually - through email, the phone, texting, Facebook private messaging, Zoom, WhatsApp, and other platforms. We meet people where and in whatever forum they are most comfortable and feel safest to share. This also has enabled us to listen to people across 25 U.S. states and 12 nations around the world. Our training work has taken us in businesses, colleges and universities, hospitals and healthcare institutions, schools, places of worship, hospices, funeral homes, civic organizations, and other nonprofits. Our podcasts have featured guest who also value the vital role that listening plays in everyday professional and personal lives. Our books relate stories of the life-changing role that listening plays and offer practical tips on how to listen better to one another to change the culture of organizations and to strengthen relationships in an increasingly fractured, lonely, and emotionally disconnected world.
Our workshop, based on the theme of our third book - "Listening 2by2: A Paradigm Shift for Leaders (That's When the Magic Happens!)" - will feature a short training seminar in Someone To Tell It To's 2by2 listening and presentation model. These six topics will be included:
1. Starting with a Belief (about listening),
2. Creating the Space (for listening),
3. Asking Good Questions (to help others open up and feel safe),
4. Listening Intentionally (for the meaning in what is spoken and unspoken),
5. Reaching for Your Tools (to enable good listening), and
6. Taking Time for Self-Care (since listening is often hard and vulnerable work).
The presentation of the topics will be followed by a series of listening interactions that show both helpful and unhelpful environments and responses for listening well.
Participants will have the opportunity to practice listening in pairs and being listened to by pairs of listeners, and to ask questions about Someone To Tell It To's listening, training, and educational experiences over the past decade.
This workshop will be interactive, relational, and illuminating. It will help participants to better understand the dynamics enabling good listening and will offer the practical tools necessary to growing one's listening abilities.
Interest Tags: Experience Sharing/Discussion, Family/Friends, Relationships, Safety, Socializing, Voice, Wellness, Workplace