Thread by @syrpis

This is a bit different; some thoughts about how we *listen* to people. I'm putting it here because it may, as I'll try to explain, have political resonance. THREAD 1/15

We listen (and read) for lots of different reasons, and in lots of different contexts.

I think that, fundamentally, we can listen in 2 ways, and that those 2 ways are markedly different. 2/

We can listen either from our perspective, with our own frame of reference in place, seeking to work out how what is being said interacts with our own world view. 3/

Or, we can listen from a different place, trying to make sense of what is being said, and trying to understand things not so much from our own perspective, but from the perspective of the speaker. 4/

My sense - and this may be wrong - is that most people (myself included) tend to, and have been trained to, listen mainly from our own perspective.

And I think that there is value (though also danger) in the second sort of listening. 5/

This is therefore calling for people not to *abandon* their critical frame, but to *suspend* it. To take time to understand the speaker before subjecting the speaker to criticism. 6/

It is not easy to suspend one's critical frame, and there are dangers and risks inherent in seeking to do so. One may, for example, be more easily seduced by the speaker, and buy into their narrative. 7/

And yet, there are also big advantages in understanding the speaker and the speaker's perspective (this point is particularly obvious in the context of any relationship). 8/

In the academic context, we know how frustrating the comments of the infamous reviewer 2 are, whose comments explain how this isn't the article they would have written on the topic before rejecting it for that reason. 9/

In the political context, there is obvious merit in understanding rival perspectives, and obvious value in seeking to understand the perspective, or world view, of various rival parties. 10/

If you understand another's perspective, you might be able to predict what they will do next. You might be able to see internal contradictions within a speech or argument. 11/

There's a lot more I could say about listening, but I'll leave it there for now. Would be very interested in others' thoughts.

I'll just end with a comment on what these thoughts might mean not for the listener but for the speaker. 12/

One's ability or willingness to suspend one's analytical depends on how the message is framed and presented. One can get 'lost' in a good book, film, or speech. 13/

Skilled writers and speech-makers aim to create a narrative which displaces listeners' world views, and manages to get listeners to change their minds, or to persuade them to act or think in certain ways. 14/

I'm not sure if there is a conclusion to all this.

I guess I am trying to say that it is important that we take time to understand others' arguments and frames of reference, and that we are able to suspend (and interrogate), but not abandon, our perspective. 15/15