Discover Listening Campaign Invites Individuals to ‘Listen’ and ‘Be Heard’ As Part of Global Movement

Listen First Project, Someone to Tell It To, and Urban Confessional are happy to announce a new collaborative campaign, Discover Listening. Through a public service announcement and associated website (DiscoverListening.com), the campaign aims to enrich the lives of everyday people through the power of listening.

Graham Bodie, professor of integrated marketing communication in the School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss, said he’s especially excited to be doing this work at the University of Mississippi. Bodie’s research explores interpersonal and human communication.

“Although we are not unique, our state has some profound and complicated issues,” he said. “Part of solving them requires that we listen to a diversity of voices, especially those that have not been valued historically. By listening first to understand, we come to respect and appreciate others as people and not positions, and through these relationships we can start making positive change, together.”

Today, society members dislike, distrust, even despise those who see the world differently, according to Pearce Godwin, executive director for the National Conversation Project. 

“We’re withdrawing from conversations—eroding relationships and understanding. Experts say the solution to the current crisis of social polarization is to cultivate more positive social connections between individuals,” he said.

The Discover Listening campaign intends to moves the needle in the right direction by turning the tide of rising rancor and deepening division by starting new conversations—conversations that prioritize listening first to understand. 

Individuals and organizations alike are called to participate in this global #ListenFirst movement and Discover Listening in order to bridge divides—from ‘us vs. them’ toward ‘me and you.’ To participate, visit the Discover Listening website where you can learn how
to “be heard” and “listen first.”

All donations made to Discover Listening will further benefit the global #LISTENFIRST movement through supporting the work of all three participating organizations. Each one of these organizations is a partner organization of National Conversation Project (NCP), a collaborative platform powered by over 200 organizations working to mend the frayed fabric of society by bridging divides.

NCP promotes conversations in which all #ListenFirst to understand others and the deeper values, experiences, and perspectives that can unite individuals, according to its website.

Additionally, NCP promotes the National Week of Conversation (April 5-13, 2019), #ListenFirst Fridays (every Friday), and any conversation inviting people of all stripes to revitalize the world together. The Discover Listening project was enabled with a generous donation from The Jessica Drew Sunshine Memorial Fund.

About Each Organization:

• Listen First Project teaches skills and creates opportunities for conversations that help promote a stronger future for the world and better relationships in daily lives through encouraging and teaching others about the power of starting new #ListenFirst conversations to address social polarization and bridge divides, one conversation at a time.
• Someone To Tell It To cultivates meaningful relationships through compassionate listening and trains others to do the same. Whether you are looking to become a better listener yourself or are part of an educational, corporate, or religious community, Someone To Tell It To has training materials to help. They believe that individuals and communities become better listeners by focusing on the importance of empathy, listening with intention, and being fully present.
• Urban Confessional is a Free Listening Movement. Volunteers stand on street corners holding “Free Listening” signs and provide compassionate, non-judgmental listening for anyone who needs to talk.

Press release courtesy of Pepper Taylor, pdtaylor@go.olemiss.edu