Welcome back to The Sunstone Way.
Did you know that today, July 18, is World Listening Day? It’s not quite a national holiday yet, but it has been around for 14 years and connects events around the world.
The name caught my eye because I’m a strong believer in the importance of listening. So I did a little research.
Acoustic Ecology
We live in a noisy world – traffic noise, construction noise, crowd noise, aircraft noise, etc. If you live in a city, it’s difficult to get away from the noise, even living in residential areas. Trying to listen to one particular sound like a bird singing or a band playing can be difficult in the cacophony of modern life.
That concerned Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, who was one of the founders of the acoustic ecology movement. The concept is to end noise pollution and harmonize the relationship between humans and the environment.
An organization called the World Listening Project was born from that movement. In 2010, the group began organizing “activations,” where the focus is listening in a specific environment – everything from the natural desert to created sound gardens.
Each one encourages participants to actively listen to their environment.
Active Listening
So what is active listening? Don’t you have to be still to listen?
Yes and no. Active listening is an approach to listening where the focus is on understanding the other person’s (or environment’s) message. To do that, you listen to both the words and the non-verbal messages being sent – body language, context, etc.
A key to active listening is quieting your own mind. Don’t start formulating a response as soon as the other person starts talking. It is listening to understand. This is where that great tool “so I heard you say … Is that what you meant?” comes in.
Practical Applications
Here at Sunstone, our goal is to serve our partners. We cannot be effective doing that without understanding what they want and need. And we can’t do that without listening well to what they say
Active listening also is a great tool for those partners, or anyone for that matter. Truly understanding what people want is to listen – actively!
All About Context
It takes more than ears to hear. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, so being aware of those actions is important.
I’ve found that the most important component of active listening is understanding the context of a statement. Is the person talking about what she or he wants to happen, or about how they are going to help make it happen? Are they asking for help or maybe an explanation?
Often, it takes asking questions to understand the context of a discussion. I’m happy to offer explanations or help, but I love to learn, and asking questions helps me – and you – do that.
We want to understand how we can help. We are listening.
Because that’s The Sunstone Way!
As always, remember to be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2024
More About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm headquartered in Southern California. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row. In the latest Pitchbook rankings, Sunstone Management was #15 in the third quarter of 2023 nationally, and #18 in the fourth quarter.1
- Rankings from Pitchbook Venture Monitor, Q3 and Q4.