When an angry reader began cursing her out over the phone, newspaper columnist Ronnie Polaneczky had an epiphany: Magic happens when we set aside our judgments and just listen, even when we are certain that person is wrong and we are right. The experience set her on a quest to understand the true meaning of what she calls “deliberate listening.” When deep listening becomes a deliberate practice, like a muscle to be exercised, we open new creative spaces in our lives for connecting with others and fully expressing ourselves.
Ronnie Polaneczky, a journalist for thirty years, is a columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News, where she has won numerous journalism awards for listening to the city she loves and telling its stories in ways that get to the heart of who we are. She is the 2015 winner of the Eugene Pulliam Journalism Fellowship for her coverage of a growing yet vastly unheard population - elderly parents who are still responsible for the care of their intellectually disabled, aging children. Polaneczky has also written for local and national magazines - including Philadelphia, Men’s Health, Reader’s Digest, MarieClaire, Redbook and others - and is a popular public speaker and emcee. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, writer Noel Weyrich. Their daughter, Adeline, is a New York comedian and college student.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx