Why a film about listening?

Even though most of us spend a majority of our day in communication with other people, and a large percentage of that time is spent listening, very few of us have ever been taught HOW to listen or WHY it's so important.

Learning to listen deeply changes lives. It saves marriages. It strengthens friendships and dissolves challenges. It impacts a business' bottom line and a child's ability to learn. And sometimes - more often than we might think - it honest-to-goodness saves lives.

Listening is the point of connection that allows us to see past our own stories and emotions and acknowledge the other person as fully human. Listening with empathy - listening to understand - is the key to improving every relationship in your life.

It's a simple thing, but not always easy and while some people are naturally good listeners, each of us can improve our ability. All it takes is knowledge, practice and the willingness to not always be right.

Listen Closely is a feature length documentary that examines how the quality of your listening affects the quality of your life.

The film looks at the power of listening in the areas of love, parenting, business, education, end-of-life and social justice. With expert interviews and regular folks' in-the-moment experiences, we examine different ways of listening, explore the notions of competence and mastery, dig into the barriers to listening and learn how to keep our hearts and minds open, even in times of conflict.

18 expert interviews are finished, along with some time with inmates learning to be mediators at Corcoran State Prison. Filming will continue through 2019.

Our vision with this film is to be a rallying point for a revolution that is already underway...a listening revolution.

We want to reach people in the midst of busy lives and nudge them with information, with inspiration, with touching personal stories, so they begin to wonder how being a better listener would impact their life.

Our hope is that we will give people enough reason to walk away from the film and begin making the baby steps (or giant leaps) that lead to change and to show them where to turn next if their curiosity and their lived experience lead them to go deeper.

Our goal is for this film to make the world a kinder, more understanding, more compassionate place, where parents, children, spouses, friends, business associates and strangers all listen to each other just a little bit more, just a little bit better.

You can help make this dream a reality, right now.

Make sure to watch the video on the front page to see what some of our experts are talking about and share this website with your family, friends and communities.

Please support this important film with a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, From the Heart Productions, and join our newsletter community for updates on the film and listening news!