POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH
By Kyle Kramer
The Power of Listening
Kyle Kramer
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love to listen to podcasts across a variety of topics. So when the stars aligned about a year and a half ago for me to start and host a podcast for the nonprofit organization I run, I picked up a microphone and jumped into this brave new world. The result was the Earth and Spirit Podcast on National Public radio. I knew from the start that I wanted to try thoughtful, long-form journalism, drawing guests out on topics related to spirituality, social healing, and care for the earth. What I didn’t realize was how much podcasting would teach me about the art of good conversation. When I’m getting ready to interview a guest, I do a lot of homework. I research my guests and their work. I read their books, study their organizations, and carefully think through what questions I would like to ask. Even before we hit the record button, I try to step into their world and their perspective. In these conversations, my most important job is to listen, not say clever things or speechify in any way, but simply to draw out the wisdom of my conversation partner through deep, careful, attentive listening. This is hard for me, since I really like to talk. I have to cultivate an attitude of curiosity, openness, and a willingness to learn new things and be changed—which requires a certain vulnerability, compared to wearing the armor of a seen-it-all, know-it-all.
16 • November 2021 | StAnthonyMessenger.org
No matter how much I think through the structure of the conversation and prepare a list of questions ahead of time, when we’re actually recording a podcast, the conversation invariably takes on a life of its own. My guests and I never get to all of my questions or cover them in the order I planned. Often, we end up in completely new territory—which can be wonderful, but also a bit unnerving for me. I’m finding that once I can let go of my need for control, though, there’s great joy to be had in the discoveries that can occur in such freedom. REALITY CHECK
When I listen to the unedited recording of a conversation, I often cringe to hear how I “um,” “uh,” and stutter my way through it. With high-tech audio editing software, it’s possible—and really tempting—to airbrush all of that out. But the brilliant sound engineer I work with strikes a fine balance between cutting out what is distracting and leaving in the reminders that this is a conversation among human beings, who don’t go around reading from scripts. I’m encouraged and excited to be learning about how to facilitate good podcast conversations. But what about all the other conversations that occur in day-to-day life, without microphones and the magic of postproduction editing? How can I take those
MIDDLE: RYAN J LANE/ISTOCK; BOTTOM: KUPICOO/ISTOCK
EarthandSpiritCenter.org
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TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; TOP: VISUAL SPACE/ISTOCK
Kyle is the executive director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, which offers interfaith educational programming in meditation, ecology, and social compassion. He serves as a Catholic climate ambassador for the US Conference of Catholic Bishopssponsored Catholic Climate Covenant and is the author of Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living (Franciscan Media, 2021). He speaks across the country on issues of ecology and spirituality. He and his family spent 15 years as organic farmers and homesteaders in Spencer County, Indiana.
