You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters

Journalist Murphy leaves no doubt about the importance of listening both for individuals and for society as a whole. She believes that listening well leads to understanding and wisdom, and enriches our experiences and interactions with others. Murphy reminds readers that active listening takes practice, focus, and is grounded in curiosity. She cites examples that show how listening is becoming a lost skill in today’s distraction-filled and polarized world; evidence references previous research on the social and psychological aspects of listening and effective listening techniques as seen in interviews with criminal justice interrogators, improv comedians, writers, salespeople, priests, and even con artists. She covers the mechanics of hearing and shows how the multisensory nature of listening depends on nonverbal cues.