September Blog-Listening & Storytelling

Hello and Welcome back to a new school year! It's hard to believe that 2026 is three quarters over but each new school year brings new and exciting things, not just for students but for teachers and parents too!

While most kids and families enjoy some of the summer relaxing and going on vacations to the beach, mountains, or a tropical location on another coast, teachers are busy planning and purchasing new material for their classrooms.

This month, my focus is on listening and how and why being better listeners can make better writers. This can be used not only for students in school but anyone who wants to improve their writing skills in business as well.

I- Writing- Why Listening Makes Better Writers.

The writing process is much more than putting pen to paper, or sitting at a computer and entering a series of random keys that appear on the screen to form words and sentences. Writing with purpose requires, not only good use of language skills, but a good ear for listening and thinking. Writing involves our ears so that we can hear and become aware of speech and the way words sound in order to make them look right on paper.

Have you ever written something and then went back to scan it quickly for accuracy but then something didn't look right, so you read it back out loud to discover a missing word or punctuation put in the wrong place? It happens more than we know. Something that often corrects that piece is to start listening to the way people talk, how they use pauses, slang, expressions or general conversation. The dialogue and voice used in conversational talk brings an awareness to the writing process when it comes to building stronger stories.

Imagine reading a story without using emotion or any words to emphasize feeling? Listening to stories read aloud helps writers with the flow of sentences, rhythm and pace of the written word. While is is true that the written and spoken word have a different impact on the person receiving the information, it is important to align writing with listening for producing better written material. For example, for those who are familiar with the novel, "A Catcher In The Rye," by J.D. Salinger, originally hit the shelves of book stores in 1951, (one of my all time favorite books and authors) it is known that the author would walk around the streets of New York City and listen to the teens riding the buses and subways in order to authenticate the "voice" of the main character, Holden Caulfield, who was portrayed as a protagonist that had a cynical and emotionally vulnerable attitude in his world of growing up and the struggles he faced with the challenges of adulthood, that would ultimately be the world he was fearing. This technique that improved J.D. Salinger as an author gave the world a beautiful "coming of age" book and proved that dialogue counts.

Now, not everyone will be an author, but writing based on listening is a good skill for anyone to acquire. A helpful prompt for this month's writing practice could be to write a "Story I Heard Today." While you go about life, lifing, at school or work, or at the movies or mall, etc, take notice of how the conversations with the people you see make good writing material. Is the check out person at the store engaging with customers as they bring their items to be scanned? Do they talk about the weather, price of gas, food and other day to day things that affect others? Careful listening can be the start of a story, a comedy skit or even a future TED talk! The only thing you need are good ears and a sharp eye to capture your story.

Remember - September 8th - International Literacy Day!

II - Education- Listening Skills in the Classroom and Beyond!

I remember back in school, teachers would say, "It's time to put on your listening ears," when they wanted us to focus on what they had to say. I even used this phrase when I taught as well. When you actually think about it, do we really understand the difference between hearing and listening? According to Dictionary.com, (as a verb/without object) "hear" means: to be capable of perceiving sound by the ear. Listening, on the other hand, means: Intentional concentration and requires mental energy. It involves more of a cognitive engagement rather than the physical ability to hear without effort or thought. That said, when students or teachers are asking for everyone to put their "listening ears on," they require more than just being able to hear a voice speak words.

In the classroom, there are multiple opportunities to connect listening with comprehension and empathy. When a student understands the message being delivered verbally, they are engaged and show attention and then connect the emotional part, which is understanding the feelings that go with the message.

Helping students develop good listening skills is essential so that they are able to follow the stages of proper communication and etiguette. The focus should be on the speaker as step one in being prepared to follow good listening skills. All eyes and ears should be on the person talking, not just for proper protocol but in order to retain and connect the information being given. Learning to hold thoughts, questions and comments until the speaker is finished is step two. Step three is asking questions for clarification and understanding. The final part is for the speaker to look for facial expressions of the listener to see how any emotions or connections might effect understanding. Students often work in groups of three or four doing research on subjects that require them to present in front of the class. Regular practice of this can improve students listening skills and teach them regulation from distractions as well.

III- Parenting - Helping Kids Feel Heard

Practical Listening strategies for Families

One of the hardest things I remember having to endure as a child growing up in the sixties was to "hear" how children should be seen and not heard, or children should speak only when spoken to. It was an "unspoken" daily attitude among many of the adults raising children in that time period. That makes me a Baby Boomer, born in nineteen sixty and I learned how to use my voice by writing in my journal daily. I went through a lot of notebooks just to say what not many would listen to. I was the youngest of five and lived in a multi-generational home. I turned to writing for several reasons. I was good at it and I enjoyed the word life. Ok, I'm a "word nerd." Also, after reading a remarkable book written by a thirteen year old during World War II, the "Diary of A Young Girl," by Anne Frank, a personal journal of a girl in hiding with her family during Nazi Germany. This book was written in diary form and is a highly recommended book for upper elementary/middle schoolers.

When watching movies or reading (a favorite thing to do besides writing) I would desipher the dialogue when characters interacted and spent lots of time thinking about how words made sense in certain ways and in others, they did not. When I was a teacher, I loved hearing kids talk about their interests. I listened intently as they shared interesting facts or likes and dislikes during morning circle.

For Parents at home, building strength with your young ones to feel heard must start with an emotional connection and regular communication. Setting aside the same time everyday, whether it's over breakfast, driving to school or any other time your child is a "captive" audience, can establish the deep bond that brings families together.

Here are some suggestions to help create the perfect time to spend with your child establishing good listening skills:

*Put away all screens while you focus attention on the task. This goes for the child too. Be sure to have a quiet environment.

*Get down on their level, literally, if you have young ones so you are eye to eye with them. That builds trust and a safety space for them to participate fully in any interaction.

*Have your child repeat back to you what you are saying so they hear the words from their own mouths and comprehend them. This reinforces the message and anchors the process.

A fun and possibly challenging family activity to do this month is to share a story without interruption. Each family member can "take the floor" for five minutes while sharing a meaningful story. It could be about how your day was at school or work, was there any interesting things happening outside, or anything that has interest to share. It builds confidence, stamina and self control and utilizes the etiquette of public speaking, i.e., pacing, timing, eye contact, and volume. These are all important parts of developing a good habit of speaking as well as listening.

I hope you enjoyed this month's writing blog. Next month, I will talk about Mood and Atmosphere.

International Listening Day is September 18th!