Resources

"Belonging is being accepted and invited to participate. More than that, it means being able to raise issues and confront harsh truths as a full member of a community."
—Susie Wise, Design for Belonging

Belonging Barometer:
The Othering and Belonging Institute, and other similar organizations committed to the principles of belonging have deeply inspired the work that we do. One of the goals of participating in storytelling and conversation is to create a sense of belonging. Belonging is not only a key value for higher education, it is essential for contemporary democratic life. This is a resource that explains how powerful belonging is.

Mark Yaconelli: “Between the Listening and the Telling: How Stories Can Save Us”

Bridging Differences Playbook
The Bridging Difference Playbook is a tool specifically designed to help individuals become more equipped to facilitate conversations between conflicting groups. It is not a “how to” on having productive conversations in general, it is specifically focused on places of contention. This is a good resource for people planning on working with mediation or anyone interested in listening to someone they disagree with.

Full Question Worksheet

The goal of asking questions at the start of a gathering is to invite people to be present with each other. We do this by building trust and giving everyone the opportunity to be heard. The point is as much in the listening of these stories as it is the telling of them.

Sample Questions:

Level One – These questions are ice breakers. They are meant to set the tone for your meeting/class and get people comfortable in the space.

• Can you name one thing that you are newly in love with or passionate about—big or small?
• If you brought a really important person to visit your hometown, where would you take them? Why?

Level Two – These questions begin to go deeper. They require trust as well as participants being present to each other. The hope with these questions is to share more personal stories and build a deeper understanding within your conversation group.

• What is a powerful leadership moment you've experienced?
• What do you love about the area/community in which you live?

Level Three – These questions attempt to prepare participants to discuss difficult topics. They are meant to build a deeper level of trust that will be required when engaging in personal and contentious discussions.

• How do you define belonging and how do you experience it? Where do you feel you belong and why?
• What assumptions do people make about you or your life? What expressions of curiosity would you welcome?

Take a couple of minutes to bring your body and mind into the room to be present. A few deep breaths, a few moments of quiet, or any of these short exercises.

Rituals/Grounding Exercises:

• Mindful Breathing | Practice | Greater Good in Action
• Compassion Meditation | Practice | Greater Good in Action

Listening and storytelling complement each other. We believe listening is a vital skill for students to learn in order to foster a more inclusive classroom environment. As a skill, listening requires practice. Here are some resources we find valuable.

Center for Deep Listening
The Center for Deep Listening is an organization committed to the work of teaching people the practice of deep listening. This is their definition of deep listening. If you are new to the term this is a great place to start.

Bridging Differences Playbook
The Bridging Difference Playbook is a tool specifically designed to help individuals become more equipped to facilitate conversations between conflicting groups. It is not a “how to” on having productive conversations in general, it is specifically focused on places of contention. This is a good resource for people planning on working with mediation or anyone interested in listening to someone they disagree with.

Parts of the playbook that stood out to us:

• What bridging is: pp. 9-11
• What roles people play: pp. 16-17
• Conversation with people you disagree with: pp. 42-69
• Bring opposing parties together. pp: 72-82

Narrative 4 Tools for Deep Listening 2019
Narrative 4 is an organization that helps both educational and community leaders facilitate conversation. They have many tool kits to help in the work, this is a very simple one that gives strategies for deep listening. This is great if you are looking for a quick resource with a lot of content.

Active Listening | Practice | Greater Good in Action
This Listening exercise from Greater Good in Action is a great way to practice active listening skills and can be done in varying amounts of time.

Understanding Listening: A Practice of Love for Opponents
This resource has good reflection questions and exercises to assess how your listening work is going. This resource would be good for someone who wants to reflect on their listening.

Listening Practice: A #PTL Playbook
The Listening Practice: A #PTL Playbook is a bigger picture tool to help understand the importance of listening. It talks about the current state of listening and the benefits of listening to other perspectives. This resource would be good for someone who wants to think about their listening in a broader context.