I sat in the front row and waved my arm. I just couldn’t wait to share my opinion in class discussions. Hardly had another student began expressing themselves when my arm shot up with a half-baked reply. I had something to say and I wanted to say it as soon as possible! It wasn’t until I began teaching that I realized how cringe-worthy this behavior could be and began considering how to more gracefully enter a conversation. I don’t have good manners and it probably took me too long to realize that a basic first step is listening before speaking.
Most of us are writers because we have something to say. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we want to engage in conversation with our readers. We have a story to tell or a thesis to put forth. But because the act of writing is a solitary act, it is easy to forget that we are engaging in a conversation. And like all conversations, listening is just as important as writing.
How do we listen as writers? We do our homework. That is, we do our research.
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