Knight Reading 2023-2024: Everyday Ubuntu

In our interactions with others, we may find ourselves only passively listening. "Passively listening is the way most of us listen and it often happens when we're distracted" (p. 213). Passive listening can also be what happens when we are simply waiting for our turn to respond or say something else. Active listening occurs when we are fully invested in what the other person is saying and when we are listening both for understanding and with empathy. 

• What are ways you intentionally show active listening?
• With all of the ways to communicate with one another, what does "active listening" look like through digital means? Is it possible?

Everyday Ubuntu introduces The Samaritans, a call center charity that works to encourage the power of communication and offers advice on active listening. While this service is UK based, the United States federal government has developed a suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988. While these two services are not exactly the same, the importance of having someone actively listening to you and your concerns is essential.