Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction by Shafir

From the Publisher

This practical guide lays the inner groundwork for effective listening to improve relationships, create loyal customers and enhance memory and creativity.

Library Journal

Shafir, chief of speech pathology at Massachusetts's Lahey Clinic with over 25 years of clinical experience helping patients learn to speak, has written a real "heads-up" book for this age of soundbytes, multitasking, and hidden agendas. Communication is an interactive process dependent on both speaking and listening. Too often, the listening part is given short shrift, and we are left wondering why we feel "empty." Defining listening as "the willingness to see a situation through the eyes of the speaker," Shafir goes beyond the mechanics of good listening behavior to an approach requiring relaxation, focus, and a desire to learn from the speakers' perspective. In a friendly and informal tone, she discusses specific exercises, activities, and strategies to improve awareness, provides illustrations, and gives examples from her clinical experiences. While the book has relevance to anyone who spends time talking with others, counselors and those in the helping professions will find its solid and practical advice especially useful.--Denise S. Sticha, Seton Hill Coll., Greensburg, PA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

What People Are Saying

Douglas Stone
The Zen of Listening awakens us to the potential for intimacy, compassion, and growth inherent in all of our most important relationships. (Douglas Stone, co-author of the best-selling Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most)

Robert Gerzon
Shafir takes us to the heart of relationships and shows us the power of authentic listening–not only to others, but to our own inner self. (Robert Gerzon, psychotherapist and author of Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety)

Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz
The ability to listen clearly is what enables us to find our true self and help others. Rebecca Shafir points directly to this fundamental skill, with step-by-step teachings used in the Zen tradition for centuries. Don’t just “read” this remarkable book, use it as a guide and practice its teachings in your everyday life. (Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz, Zen Master and editor of The Whole World Is a Single Flower)

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents