World Listening Day
About World Listening Day
When is World Listening Day? This holiday is is always celebrated on July 18
Shhh! Lend me your ear. Listen up, as I’m not going to say this again. Today is World Listening Day. The goal of this July 18 holiday is to raise awareness of the acoustic ecology or environment that surrounds you. It is also a day better understand the soundscape and to celebrate good listening practices. There are two key communication skills humans need to successfully circumnavigate their daily lives. They are talking and listening. Most of us have mastered the gift of gab with little or no difficulty. But, our listening skills often leave something to be desired. We encourage you to use this holiday to get in tune with the soundscape, and to learn how to really hear what people are telling you.
Do you have to get out the megaphone to get people to hear you? Do you ever get the sense that people aren’t really listening to the really important things you have to say? Many of us think we are good listeners. But, that often just isn’t the case. Many of us are good talkers, but our listening skills have room for improvement. If you’ve ever caught yourself formulating a reply while a person is still talking to you, then you are not hearing and truly absorbing all the speaker has to say. Do you hear what I’m saying?
You may be wondering just what the concept of “soundscape” means. A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans. Why is this important? While walking in a forest, or a city street, those background noises and conversations might be important to your safety.
Today’s Deep Thought: If everyone is talking, who is listening? Conversely, if everyone is listening, who’s doing the talking?
Listening Facts and Trivia
Here are some interesting listening facts and trivia.
- The average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words a day.
- Typically, we can recall about 50% of what a person says immediately after they are done talking. And, just an hour later, we can recall just 20% of it. How can you improve this percentage?
- We listen at 125 – 250 words per minute. But we think at 1000 – 3000 words per minute.
- 85% of what we learn is from listening.
- Research shows that men only use half their brain to listen while women engage both lobes.
How to Celebrate and Participate in World Listening Day
Here are a few ideas on how to participate in World Listening Day:
- Stop talking and listen.
- Go to a very quiet place and see how many sounds you can hear and identify.
- Resist the temptation to formulate a reply as someone else is speaking.
- After someone has spoken, repeat or summarize what they said back to them to confirm you heard what they said and understand it.
- Participate in the World Listening Project’s theme for the year.
- Donate to the World Listening Project.
- Improve the acoustics or soundscape of your environment to help you become a better listener.
Deep Woods Thought for Today: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make any noise?
Today's Quotes
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” – – Epictetus
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – – Winston Churchill
“When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes.” – – Victor Hugo
History and Origin of World Listening Day
The non-profit organization World Listening Project (WLP) created World Listening Day in 2010. They did so to honor and commemorate the birthday of Raymond Murray Schafer. He was born on July 18, 1933. Murray is a creator, composer, environmentalist, and author of the book The Tuning of the World. Also, Murray is the founder of the modern study of acoustic ecology.
This is a global holiday seeking to promote a better understanding of environmental culture, and society by listening as well as audio recording in the field.
This Day in History
Here are some things that happened on this day:
- Nadia Comăneci becomes the first gymnast in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 score at the Montreal Games. (1925)
- Comet Shoemaker-Levy’s largest collision with Jupiter leaves a black spot a phenomenal 12,000 km across! (1944)
- John Glenn, astronaut, Ohio Senator, was born on this day in 1921.
Related Holidays
If you like World Listening Day, then you’ll love:
More July 18 Holidays
In addition to World Listening Day, here are more July 18 holidays you will enjoy:
National Caviar Day– something’s fishy here.
More About Today
Flower of the Day: Zinnia
Recipe of the Day: Grilled Corn on the Cob
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