I Heard What You Said. Oh, really?

Facilitator: Dale Mary Grenfell, (970) 484-1945, grenfell@q.com Dates: Mondays, Feb. 3 — Feb. 24, 2025 (4 Weeks) Time: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM Text: None Presentations: None (but plenty of space for shared narratives) Location: Foothills Activity Center Class limit: 25

There are four “givens” about interpersonal communication. It’s inescapable, irreversible, complicated and contextual. Add to that, have you ever heard of the “neural story net?” Or, the “make sense mandate?” Recently discovered, they are fascinating parts of our evolutionarily-wired brains that play an enormous role in what we hear and the decision to take it in…..or not. And, did you know that everything – yes, everything - we hear is taken in as “story?” 24/7. Even in our dreams.

About 96% of us believe we are good listeners. Fact? We retain only about half of what we hear. Research tells us that while “communication devices” abound, our communication skills and ability to listen effectively continue to decline.

So says Mark Twain…..If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear.

We’ll begin with the time-tested ye olde “telephone” exercise and, from there, navigate through our brains, biases and beliefs about this primal need to connect with other human beings. In such a complex and challenging world, strong interpersonal communication is, perhaps, more important than ever.