No. 73 The Listening Ear

Facillitator:
Date:

Group Session Plan from FUSN (adapted by Judy Friedman)

Opening Words
To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation. Proverb

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Leo Buscaglia

Stranger, if you pass me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me? And why should I not speak to you?
Walt Whitman

Check In

Topic
Think of a time when you were really listened to about something that was close to your heart. And a time when you were not heard. Describe each experience: what happened, how it felt, and what it
meant to you.

Closing Words:
We are changed, you and I. Just as before,
countless times in cycles that never quite repeat
We are changed. But this time it is different.
For we have shared the sacred gift—
of knowing one another, of trusting one another.
And so I say to you: go forth boldly; you are not alone—
you carry with you a part of all of us.
And so I say to you: go forth, in peace. Amen.
Andrew C. Backus