A recent article about communication modes, “Why Are We Not Taught How to Listen?” references Professor Lisbeth Lipari’s work in this field.
Author Lindsey Laverty notes:
Lisbeth Lipari, professor at Denison University and author of Listening, Thinking, Being: Towards an Ethic of Attunement, says in one of her articles that she seeks “to explore the possibilities that arise when listening…is placed at the conceptual center of communication.”
Lipari notes that Western influence has a visual dominance that extends to our communication, leading us to leave out the concept of listening. Listening itself often arises from a point of speech, rather than an awareness and focus upon the other person.
She encourages “listening otherwise,” a method of listening that seeks to move past a self-focused approach and discusses “interlistening,” a perspective that acknowledges the multiple dimensions and senses that converge in this communication activity, from perceived roles and characters to nonverbal actions, to factors from the past, present, and future to what is heard or thought. In summary, her work unpacks the complexity of listening and proposes that it is a way of living ethically by being aware of oneself, others, and the surrounding world.
