The Joy of Listening

Recently, I saw the book Listening is an Act of Love at Starbucks.

The subtitle summarized: “A celebration of American life from the StoryCorps project.” USA Today, quoted on the cover, proclaimed, “Each interview is a revelation.”

How could I resist?

Every night, I read one or two stories, enchanted by the simplicity, the authenticity, and the nitty-gritty reality revealed in each interview.

This week, I’m sharing various stories from Listening is an Act of Love with my English II students. Today, we focused on the subtext of three interviews: the inferences we could draw not just from reading the printed transcripts but especially while listening to the audio tracks.

How rich an experience it is to listen to the “live” voices of the actual people! Their stories, which I’ve enjoyed reading to myself, come alive with each individual’s inflections, pacing, emphases, accent, and tone!

Do my students feel the difference between just reading the book and actually hearing the interviews? I need to ask! And if so, I need to hear what they noticed. (One thing I’ve learned is not to assume that my students’ experiences mimic mine!)

Today, we compared these short interviews/audio clips that focus on marriage, each one thought-provoking and instructional:

• William Jacobs exemplifies a man who “stepped up” to meet his wife’s needs.
• Hee-Sook Lee tells how she modeled her own marriage after a couple she admired.
• Sulochana Konur shares her thoughts about her son’s chosen (vs. arranged) marriage.

Listening to these stories makes me realize that I’m missing something when I text, e-mail, Tweet, even blog.

I’m missing out on the simple joy of listening.

What do you think?

What do you enjoy most about listening to someone share his or her story with you?