Join us for World Listening Day 2026
We live in a world where everyone is clamoring to be heard. Yet how much of each other's real life experiences do we actually hear? And how many of these accounts of everyday life end up being recorded? Active listening fosters empathy and understanding as well as helping us preserve the 'extraordinary ordinary stories' of the past. This is where oral history comes in. As oral historians, we create dedicated listening spaces so our narrators can share their life experiences with us free from interruptions. To create more listening spaces, we need more oral historians - it's as simple as that.
Listening is a discipline and it is one of the core competencies we teach on Oral History Made Easy. For some people, listening comes relatively easily. For others, it's more challenging. The ability to listen is one of the core skills students learn on Oral History Made Easy. By following a handful of golden rules, you too can develop the ability to listen to others with a high level proficiency - and then gift others the space to be truly heard.
Join us at Oral History Made Easy on Sunday 19th July 2026 for our listening challenge as part of World Listening Day using three simple steps.
Step 1: Complete the listening challenge: Listen to someone as attentively as you can for 30 minutes.
You can use a ‘naturally occurring’ conversation with a friend or relative or you can ask someone to partner up with you - the choice is yours. Tell the person that you are taking part in the OHME/World Listening Day 2026 listening challenge. Read our top ten listening tips before your complete the challenge.
Use as many open ended questions as possible. You can focus on something specific “Tell me about a place you loved as a child.” Or you can simply begin by asking “What are you planning to do today?” “How was your day?”
Be fully present in the conversation. Use minimal prompts to support your listening partner to recount the next part of their experiences. Resist the temptation to graft your own autobiographical experiences onto the conversation or tell anecdotes. Avoid interrupting your conversation partner and wait patiently until they have finished their thought.
Step 2: Review your listening experience Ask your partner how they felt during your conversation. Did it make a difference to be listened to so attentively? Make some notes on their response.
Step 3: Share your experience with OHME Let us know how you got on. What went well? What might you do differently next time? Did anything surprise you? We'd love to hear from you. Mark your email subject line 'Sharing my listening challenge 2026.' Happy listening!
