Listening Well:
Beyond "Active Listening" and "Body Language"
For experienced negotiators, advocates, mediators, ombudspersons, human rights officers, harassment officers, counsellors, and trainers in the fields of conflict management, dispute resolution or restorative justice.
DATE: October 4, 2003, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (arrival and coffee at 8:30 a.m.)
LOCATION: Dunsmuir Lodge, near Victoria, British Columbia
"Active listening" has been a staple part of conflict resolution education for decades. But what do we really know about it? Is it really the best way to listen? And what about popular ideas about non-verbal communication – specifically, is there a "body language" that people can learn to read? This workshop will present results of recent research in the field of communication that provides insights into both good listening and non-verbal communication. This research challenges the theory and effectiveness of active listening as well as the existence or usefulness of attending to a separate "body language." Participants will have an opportunity to consider how the ideas presented by panellists might be relevant to their practice or training methods.
Featuring: Janet Bavelas . Catherine Morris
Janet Bavelas, Ph.D, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria. She teaches, conducts research and writes on language and social interaction, face-to-face dialogue, nonverbal communication and discourse analysis (especially legal and therapeutic discourse). Relevant recent research includes studies of how people listen in conversation and an analysis of apologies of churches to First Nations in Canada. She has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Royal Society of Canada. In 2000, she received the Faculty of Social Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence.
Catherine Morris, B.A., LL.B., LL.M, director of Peacemakers Trust, is a lawyer with experience in the field of conflict resolution since 1983. director of Peacemakers Trust, is a lawyer with experience in the field of conflict resolution since 1983. She is currently an Associate of the Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives and is a former Executive Director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the University of Victoria, she has led workshops and made presentations Canada, the United States, Thailand, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
