Liz Warren | Storyteller

The Importance of Listening by Sally Borg

I love listening to and telling personal stories
and am excited to be taking “Creating and Telling Personal Stories.”  I
think I am more fired up about hearing the stories from my classmates than I am
about telling my own stories.  There is so much benefit from hearing all
the stories.  Listening to how their stories are crafted will help me
craft my own stories.  Listening to their descriptive words – the sights,
sounds, smells, and textures they bring to their stories – reminds me to bring
those senses to my stories.  The lessons they learned in their stories are
valuable to me as well. Listening to their stories also gives me snippets of
ideas for a story of my own.

My head is filled with anecdotes. My challenge
is to bring meaning to them so that a listener will get that meaning, and be
impacted in some way, instead of simply walking away thinking “That was amusing”.
Figuring out what the story is about seems to be really difficult at times.
 Am I making it more difficult than it needs to be?  I have anecdotes
that I just love to tell – but why?  What is it that makes me want to tell
this one, or that one, over and over?  If I can find that out, I will be
ready to craft it into a story.

But what should I do in the meantime?
 I have to show up and listen to others’ stories, and begin working on my
own stories at the same time.  Ideally, I’d know exactly what the story
was about before I worked on it.  But realistically, I think it is through
working on a story that I manage to eventually figure out the meaning.  
If I wait until I have the meaning before I work on a story, it may never
happen!  I am looking forward to both the listening and the telling this
semester.

The image at the top of the post can be found here: 

http://jennifermargulis.net/blog/2012/08/if-you-share-your-story-confess-your-sins-show-your-weaknesses-you-can-change-the-world/

11 responses to “The Importance of Listening by Sally Borg”

  1. Anne Avatar
    Anne

    Amen Sally! I enjoyed reading your post. It helps me clarify some of the thoughts and concerns I am grappling with.
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Kelly Avatar
    Kelly

    Well stated, Sally. I totally agree with your comment that we can learn by listening to the personal stories of others. I hope to learn from all my classmates this semester.

    Reply
  3. James Avatar
    James

    Your words struck home with me also. I have always loved to tell snippets from my life to people, especially when I knew I could get an emotional response from the listener. Perhaps the need to share humanity with one another is what is driving you also. I also struggle with which anecdotes to seriously consider as stories. I think the others in this class, including you are amazing people and have enjoyed the interaction thus far. I look forward to the rest of the semester excitedly.

    Reply
  4. Sylvia Torrey Avatar
    Sylvia Torrey

    Thank you Sally for imparting the need for good listening. In the lives of some of us listening has become a lost art. Understanding, compassion, and just plain joy may be gained for genuine listening with our hearts and not just our ears. Effective listening is truly a gift to be nutured.

    Reply
  5. Sandi Brassell Avatar
    Sandi Brassell

    Iso enjoyed reading Sally’s blog. Over the months I have learned a lot from her. I also love to hear stories of others as it gives me ideas. I also like to hear you as it gives me the context I need to compose my story. Good information

    Reply
  6. Nancy Newlin Avatar
    Nancy Newlin

    Dear Sally,
    I agree with you about how the meaning of a story reveals itself to you as you work on the story. In fact it just happened to me as I struggled with the beginning of my first story. I thought I knew the “point” of the story, but as I crafted the opening, some things “dawned” on me, I guess you could say. A different meaning, a different “point” came through. I am glad that you shared this. It makes me think I might be on the right track.
    Nancy Newlin

    Reply
  7. Marianne Avatar
    Marianne

    Hi Sally. I, too, am most looking forward to listening to others’ stories and that, in turn, helps me to tell my own stories better. I really enjoyed listening to the faculty tell stories last Wednesday evening. I learned so much from watching such masterful storytellers and it inspired me to get going crafting my own personal stories.

    Reply
  8. Louise Laux Avatar
    Louise Laux

    Sally, you have such a wonderful way of expressing yourself and creating the image of what you’re seeing for your listeners to experience with you. I enjoyed your post because the MIT often evades me. I’ve been so excited when it’s finally stepped out of obscurity into light, so I can relate completely! I look forward to more fun, entertaining, educating and engaging stories in Personal Stories! Hurrah for all of us!

    Reply
  9. Victoria Kelly Avatar
    Victoria Kelly

    Sally, just so you know…I enjoy listening to your stories too. I think my stories out loud when I am by myself…it helps we hear what you will be hearing and it helps me watch my own body language too. Great piece.

    Reply
  10. Sandi B Avatar
    Sandi B

    Well said. I enjoy, and learn from listening to others. Each person has their own style of crafting and their own area that they enjoy crafting. Your blog has shared a lot of information that I can use and learn from in the future. Here is to your talent. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  11. phyllis ralley Avatar
    phyllis ralley

    When we are telling we are also listening, to our heart, our soul, our history, our past and our future. We gain new insight on the relationships that we have taken for granted for so long. We see with new eyes and hear with new ears. The story changes us, each and every time we tell it.

    Reply

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