I'm Listening

Send us a text We welcome our guests Travis and Kate to this episode. They are both elementary teachers and we get to explore all things listening in the classroom! They bring excellent insight into things like “whole body listening”, building relationships, and what trust and respect looks like in today’s public education system. Things have changed a bit since Brandt and I were in elementary school. Back then, listening was just an expectation… and some us of weren’t very good at that...

Send us a text Welcome to the classic court case of Listening v. Reading ca.2025. When it comes to the best way to take in a book, which method is the best? In this case, Brandt defends listening to books while Drew defends reading them. Clearly the author of this set of podcast notes is correct, but not without a great debate. Can you experience a book the same way by listening to it vs reading it. Is it just as effective? We dig deep into this topic and come out with 1 ver...

Send us a text There is no better time to capture the past than during a holiday. Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S., a time most often spent with family. This episode is your re-reminder to listen and capture those stories! And while you are at it, check out this link and upload your story to The Great Thanksgiving Listen and have it preserved forever in the Library of Congress. https://storycorps.org/discover/the-great-thanksgiving-listen/ Enjoy! --- How often do we wish we would ...

Send us a text Please no more top 10 "Best ways to run a virtual meeting" lists. Please. However, we do need to have a little chat about how they are run. Brandt and I take a different angle on how to run effective virtual meetings... utilizing "listening" as our guide. Take a few notes with this episode, it will make you instantly better. And if you don't, Brandt may just ridicule you live... and nobody wants that. Sources: https://connect.societycorpgov.org/blogs/randi-morriso...

Send us a text Time for a riddle: This thing can be annoying, effective, and fun. I'll repeat it, this thing can be annoying, effective, and fun. In this episode we explore the strange paradox of repetition. Repetition is widely utilized in a variety of ways, every single day of our lives. We utilize it to bring comfort and to be annoying. It helps us remember that name, that number, and to please hold, because someone will be right with us. It is also symbolic in times of celebra...

Send us a text Ok everyone, let's take a deep breath innnnnn and ouuuuuut. Innnnnn and ouuuuuut. Great job. Welcome to the next Sprint Episode where Brandt takes Drew on a mindfulness journey and explains the relationship between mindfulness and listening. So much of our lives can be go , go ,go with kids, and dogs, and cars, and pancakes, sometime we just need to take a moment to be in the moment. That is not an easy task, but don't worry, Brandt helps us all with a few way...

Send us a text In this episode we talk with Lead Paranormal Investigator Noah Leigh, founder of the nonprofit Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee (WI). We originally thought we would identify what its like to listen for (or to) ghosts... what we learned is what it takes to listen to people about ghosts. This is one of our favorite episodes of the season thus far. It is filled with compassion, curiosity, and commitment to those who are experiencing real fear and how the power of excell...

Send us a text Let me explain… In this episode 2 men (Brandt and Drew), explain things about explanation without man-splaining. At least we hope not to… We discuss the 3 modes of learning… or explaining – Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. We also bring in, possibly the 2 biggest factors in explanation, timing and readiness. But what about that 8:00am class? What about explaining how to hit a golf ball… one the 4th hole? What about the card game? We explore it all to help you be a bett...

Send us a text In this re-listen, we bring you back to our episode about dogs and how they listen. We have referred to this episode so many times since, that we felt it was important to reintroduce it to you. Enjoy! --- A priority in dog ownership is training it to listen to us. But do we listen to our dog? Should we train ourselves in the skill of listening to our dog? In this episode of I’m Listening, we explore the relatively new knowledge of how dogs listen and the importance of listening...

Send us a text Attention class! Let’s get started and welcome to AP Physics. In this episode we explore the Doppler Effect. No skipping class, this is a Sprint! So just 30(ish) minutes of your time. This episode, of course with respect to the skill of listening, is about the impact that our friend Christian Doppler (d. 1853) had on the world. Brandt has no idea what the topic is, but he does exceptionally well… and passes the class! Thank you for listening, class dismissed. ...

Send us a text What's that? What did you say? Oh, it's season 4 of I'm Listening? Thats amazing, great to... hear... that we are back! We kick off Season 4 with Hearing Loss. This episode is more of a PSA about your ability to hear and the impact you have on others when you can't listen to them very well. We explore hearing tests, how accessible they are, and how they might just help with work, relationships, family, friendships, and just general quality of life. After all, it's hard to be a ...

Send us a text We are pulling this episode back out from the season 2 library. Listening to your body with expert Christy Ducette brought us closer to ourselves and gave us a number of ways to listen to our body and what we should do with that information. We hope you enjoy! https://www.christydoucette.com/ Support the show

Send us a text We are bringing this episode out of the season 1 library. Children was one of our most talked about episodes from season 1 so we want to bring back to you all. Enjoy! Support the show

Send us a text So you think you’re funny, eh? Well good, because it helps people listen to you. Laughter or humor is scientifically proven to help people pay attention and listen closer. Brandt and Drew explore examples and tactics to help you get a laugh to help others listen. Now, if you aren’t funny or witty and what to learn how, then please practice... there is a tool in the link below. But be careful, things could go terribly wrong. As we wrap season 3, we want to continue to expr...

Send us a text Over the past 100 years, very little has changed with the job interview. Very few businesses, companies, or organizations have been innovative in the way they assess an individual for hire with their ability to perform the duties, exceed expectations, work with others, surpass benchmarks, and reach annual goals. It's just the same process over and over and over again. Although the methods may not have changed… or may never change, we can change what we are listening for w...

Send us a text How often do we wish we would have captured the past? The stories from grandparents, parents, maybe even great grandparents. Or what about that neighbor you had for 20 years... what was their story? This episode of I'm Listening is your reminder to go capture those stories right now. Brandt recently received a set of tapes from his brother who recorded stories 20 years ago and they are amazing. We visit some of those recordings live, listen to what life was like 100 years...

Send us a text It's time for another Sprint Episode - this time I bring the topic of folklore to Brandt for his reaction. We explore our past... about sharing stories of the past. We discuss folk stories, folk music, folk art, folk heroes, and get the opportunity to share stories about one of our favorites, Paul Bunyan! Listening to folks stories is a centuries old practice that is extremely important to capture the culture of specific communities, also includes folk art, music, and heroes. H...

Send us a text Sometimes listening to yourself is the hardest person to listen to. It can be frustrating, overwhelming, and downright daunting. So how to do we handle it? Some are better at it than others and for some its a very real problem. There is good news ($46Billion Dollars worth of good news) and we explore all of this in the episode. Bottom line - Find your people, find your recourses, find what works for you - practice it, and if you aren't finding what works for you right now...

Send us a text In this episode we welcome Josh Miller who is a Sound Engineer/Recording Studio Engineer/Room Design Expert/DJ/Restaurant Owner. We discuss how sound, music, acoustics, and space all work together to create the perfect vibe. We also include the single most important aspect of that vibe... you. We talk about how you can implement some techniques in your space to create your perfect vibe, one that allows people to talk, listen, and enjoy the music. And it's not as easy as o...

Send us a text Idioms. What's the big deal and why are they a part of our everyday language? It's likely to make sense of a situation or a concept. They are in fact, very useful. They are also way over used in certain settings, to the point of annoyance and even detriment. So what can we do about it? In this episode, we discuss idioms, metaphors, jargon, similes. We dive right into... er, sorry, we begin this episode with a segment that may make many of you uncomfortable, and for this w...