In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

 Listen to the Recording

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 group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.