Learning to Listen

​In late January, Haystack members Greg Dorris and Carol Bryan held an inaugural meeting for what is hoped will become an informal communication skills group. Pat Mertens and Sarah Conover were enthusiastic participants for this first meeting, but we anticipate that many in our community will have an interest in joining as time goes on.

Why have a communication skills group? Here are some of the reasons we came up with:

*Communication means different things to different people
*Communication is the medium with which we weave relationships, for better or worse
*Communication is challenging to do skillfully
*Communication takes practice to do skillfully
*Communication is worth the effort to do skillfully

The group agreed that a monthly meeting, open to anyone interested, and gently structured by reading of the book, Say What You Mean, by Oren Jay Sofer, might be a good start. Suggestions for other titles are welcomed and encouraged. The group also acknowledged that there might eventually be a subgroup of people wanting to take a deeper dive into Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication (NVC) fount of wisdom on the subject. Stay tuned for a doodle poll to arrange the next meeting!