Workshop 1: Listening Across Surfaces

Duration: 4 hours
Participants: 10–15 students
Format: In-person or hybrid
Ideal for: beginners to intermediate students in qualitative research methods, teaching them depth beyond surface-level interviews.

Materials:

Headphones or speakers
Audio clips: overlapping conversations, background noise, silence
Fictional interview transcript (fragmented, realistic)
Observation sheets (multi-column)
Fabric samples, small physical textures, or photography of surfaces
Sharpies, colored pens, and annotation sheets
Shared board (digital or wall-mounted)

Learning Goals

By the end of this workshop, students will:

Practice attuned listening — beyond content — to rhythm, hesitation, tone, and gesture.
Learn to document observations across multiple sensory and emotional layers.
Understand how silence and off-topic remarks can hold deep insight.
Develop their ability to listen with the body — posture, energy, presence.
Reflect on researcher presence as a medium, not just a tool.

Before the Workshop

Pre-Workshop Email (Subject: “Listening that leaves no trace”)
Body:
In research, we often focus on the words.
But what about the fold between words — the silence, the tension, the flicker of hesitation?
This workshop will tune your ear — and your body — to the quiet signals behind language.
Optional: Sit in a café, turn off your screen, and just listen for 5 minutes. What did you hear that wasn’t said?

Structure & Facilitation Plan

PART 1 — Listening as Method (30 min)

Soundtrack: Play a soundscape — people talking, distant traffic, someone shifting in a chair.

Opening Image: A photo of a cracked raku ceramic bowl. Title: The crack is part of the pattern.

Facilitator Story: “I once spent an entire interview waiting for the participant to say something meaningful. But it was when they paused — looked away — that I finally understood what mattered. Listening isn’t about waiting to respond. It’s about attuning to what’s unfinished.”
Student Prompt: Write: “When have you heard something important — but couldn’t explain how you knew?”
Stick answers on a shared board titled: What Listening Catches Without Proof

PART 2 – Listening Layer by Layer (45 min)

Play audio clips (2–3 minutes each):

A user talking about a frustrating feature, but laughing.
A calm voice describing a stressful experience.
Silence after being asked a question.

Individual Task:

Fill out a 4-column sheet:
What was said
What was implied
What was felt
What was left out

Peer Share:

Partner up. Compare interpretations.
Where did you hear something they missed?

Facilitator Frame (learning goal):
“This develops your ability to hear tension across tone, not just testimony. You’re beginning to sense contradiction — the place where the real insight may live.”

PART 3 – The Transcript With Friction (45 min)

Distribute fictional interview transcript:

Fictional Transcript: “Time Well Spent”

A participant discusses their morning routine using a new time-tracking app.
They talk quickly, jump topics, dismiss their frustration.
Midway, they say: “It’s fine. It’s just my fault anyway.”
Then silence. Then laughter.

Task:

Highlight: contradiction, deflection, metaphor.
Annotate: what posture, gesture, or silence might have occurred here?

Kinesthetic Twist:

Distribute different paper textures (wrinkled, smooth, thick).
Ask students to hold one while reading. Which feels like the conversation? Why?

Debrief:

What surfaced when you listened beyond the surface?
Where did the insight hide?

Facilitator Cue:
“As a researcher, you’re not just a recorder. You’re an antenna.”

PART 4 – Live Listening Without a Script (60 min)

Setup:

In pairs, student A interviews student B about: “Tell me about a time you almost quit a product — but didn’t.”
Student A cannot follow a guide. Only listen. Respond naturally.

Instructions:

Don’t rush. Don’t solve. Let silence sit.
After 10 mins, switch.

Observer Role (optional third):

Watch facial shifts, gestures, pace changes. Document invisible moments.

Post-Interview Debrief (What → So What → Now What):

What surprised you?
What shifted when you didn’t guide?
How will you change your next session because of this?

Explicit Goal Link:
“This activity helps you recognize that the researcher’s presence changes the space — and listening, when held with care, invites depth.”

PART 5 – Listening Leaves a Trace (30 min)

Facilitator places a cracked ceramic bowl on the table.
“The crack isn’t a flaw. It’s where the fire revealed the form.”

Silent Reflection Prompt:
“What did you hear today that surprised you — but would never fit in a bullet point?”

Write this on a card titled: Traces from Listening
Pin to a shared board.

PART 6 – Letter to Self (30 min)

Write a message to your future self as a researcher:

I used to think listening meant…
Now I know listening is also…
One gesture I’ll carry forward is…

Optional Share: One phrase aloud.

Evaluation Framework

Evaluation Criterion: Active Listening and Non-verbal Engagement

Description: Demonstrates focus, presence, and responsiveness during non-verbal and verbal listening exercises.
Assessment Method: Assessed through in-session observation using a facilitator rubric (e.g., eye contact, body orientation, lack of interruption).

Evaluation Criterion: Depth of Interpretation

Description: Accurately reconstructs and reflects on the intent behind a peer’s silent plan; shows ability to identify ambiguity and nuance.
Assessment Method: Peer review of interpretation outputs; brief written reflection explaining what was understood and what remained unclear.

Evaluation Criterion: Critical Self-Reflection

Description: Engages meaningfully with the reflective prompts, drawing from workshop moments to articulate new awareness of personal listening habits.
Assessment Method: Evaluated through the Letter to Future Self, using a short rubric (clarity, specificity, connection to workshop content).