"Wait, Why Am I Talking?" Active Listening as a Planner's Best Friend, Part 1
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COURSE DETAILS
In a landscape marked by increasing polarization and rapid-fire communication, the ability to truly listen has never been more urgent or powerful. This course, led by planner, author, and educator Corrin Wendell, AICP, explores why active listening is crucial to planners and how to practice it effectively.
Could curiosity be planners' most underrated tool? During this course, participants will learn how to build trust within their communities and de-escalate conflict by listening to understand rather than respond. Participants will explore how bias, institutional culture, and power dynamics can act as barriers to being fully present and how to push past them. Regardless of your career level or role in the planning process, this course will provide a practical set of skills centered around active listening.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Define the components of deep, active listening and explain the difference between listening to respond and listening to understand.
- Recognize why intentional listening is critical to the planning profession and how it can build community trust, de-escalate conflict, and foster empathy across politically or culturally polarized contexts.
- Identify personal and institutional barriers to effective listening, including bias and cultural norms, and work to dismantle these in one's work.