Detailed Learning Objectives

Connectional Listening Workshops

Through engaging explanations, demonstrations, and practice sessions, attendees will develop techniques for (1) self-preparation, (2) phrasing empowering responses, and (3) navigating complex conversations. While not clinical in nature, Connectional Listening complements therapeutic approaches. It avoids advising, cognitive restructuring, and solution-giving—instead offering a trusting space for exploration and discovery.

Here are the learning objectives based on the topics we’ll cover. For continuing education, you can choose which ones align most closely with your organization’s professional development goals.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and apply the guiding principles of connectional listening to foster interpersonal communication and trust-building.
2. Employ a stance of engaged neutrality and radical acceptance, listening with openness without imposing solutions or agendas.
3. Integrate silence as a vital component of communication, recognizing its role in deepening reflection and connection.
4. Facilitate mutually generative support that prioritizes other-oriented compassion and the recognition of shared humanity.
5. Demonstrate humility by using respectful inquiry and active listening that honors diverse identities, experiences, and worldviews.
6. Offer strengths-based support that is non-directive but resource-rich, empowering others while preserving autonomy and agency.
7. Embody a grounded, non-anxious presence during times of uncertainty, conflict, or emotional complexity.
8. Recognize signs of secondary traumatic stress and mitigating empathic strain by implementing evidence-informed strategies.
9. Develop and implement personal self-sustenance practices that increase emotional bandwidth, resilience, and sustained capacity for care.

Instructional Methods

• Interactive lecture
• Demonstrations
• Reflective writing
• Guided practice work
• Integration discussions

Participant Feedback

“It was such a welcoming environment. I enjoyed the group learning model and I made some great connections.”

“It was very engaging. The presentations and activities were not only helpful, but they made me so interested in what I could do personally to make an impact.”

“I really enjoyed learning how to cultivate and build an open, neutral, supportive environment for someone to tell their story.”