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- FREE Mental Health Micro Guide #14
FREE Mental Health Micro Guide #14
The Listening Issue
Ben Slater
October 05, 2024
Let’s get 1 million people trained by 2035
In this Mental Health Micro guide:
Welcome!
Listening is not
silence
passive
or absence of speech.
Let’s dig into what it is…
Need help now?
(UK) Call The Samaritans on 116 123 or look at their website here
The Question: How do we listen well?
Listening is not the gaps between speech…
it is so much more.
Find out here in this 2 minute film…
(fwd is aiming to have all video content accompanied with a descriptive transcript so that we can benefit from the wisdom and character of all who engage. The descriptive transcript can be found under the video in Youtube.)
The Time-Saver: Listening 101
Save time with this One Click Wonder, all the key resources in one place - just one click away.
Open and save your own pdf version to keep and to share around the office - link under the image.
QR Code. You can either scan the QR Code or click the word “press” next to it to access the video above. Another way to share help and support.
This is part of a series. Interested in versions you can print without emptying the printer cartridge? Or interested in versions with your company logo on? Get in touch.
The Checklist: Listening Well
Four ‘why’s” and their '“how’s”. All to help you start..
Here’s a summary from the video above.
How | Why |
|---|---|
Building Connection | Listening fosters deeper relationships by showing genuine interest in the other person’s thoughts, creating trust and mutual respect. |
Reducing Stigma | Attentive listening helps break down prejudices by acknowledging someone’s experiences without judgment, promoting understanding and acceptance. |
Holding the Silence | Allowing pauses in conversation invites deeper reflection, giving space for more thoughtful and meaningful responses. |
Listening with Your Face | Engaging fully with eye contact and facial expressions communicates empathy and attentiveness, reinforcing the message that the speaker is valued. |
Listening makes the impossible
possible.
Use these techniques to put it
in its proper place.
The Pause Portal: Woodbury Common Wetland (Deserve)
How do you measure
what you deserve?
This water flows from the wetlands
on Woodbury Common, Devon.
Notice your breathe as you look at it flowing
No-one is asking whether
the water deserves to flow.
No-one is asking whether
the reeds deserve to sway.
No-one is asking whether
the sun deserves to sparkle
on the water.
Because they are nonsense questions.
These are also nonsense questions:
Whether you deserve to pause or not.
Whether you deserve to rest or not.
Whether you deserve to recover or not.
Take a breath in
through your nose for 4
Pause for 4
Breathe out
through your nose for 4
Imagine sending the words
"deserve" and "earned"
downstream to disappear
in the wetlands.
And take a moment.
Because you're here.
Because you're you.
That's more than enough
Try it and see what difference it makes.
(fwd is aiming to have all video content accompanied with a descriptive transcript so that we can benefit from the wisdom and character of all who engage. The descriptive transcript can be found under the video in Youtube.)
Getting involved
Did someone forward this to you?
Jump on board here.
I would love to know what you thought of this Micro Guide.
Or have suggestions for future topics.
This issue is about listening after all!
I regularly have discussions with people who want particular topics for their staff or volunteers and who want to use the videos and “One Click Wonders” to support their people’s wellbeing.
Join the conversation.
Press the “Get in Touch” button on the website.
That’s all for this week.
Until next week, let’s keep moving fwd…
