The Mediaweek Academy held its fifth session at News Corp’s office in Surry Hills on Wednesday, June 28.
Attendees returned to the session focused on listening skills, led by facilitator Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Mediaweek’s contributing editor and MFA Hall of Famer.
Accompanying Sparrow on the panel was Legend author Oscar Trimboli who is an Apple award-winning podcast host and Superstar Bare Feat founder Chloe Hooper.
See also: Mediaweek Academy Superstar Chloe Hooper reflects on striking it out on her own and starting Bare Feat
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Hooper said during the session that she thinks the industry is seeing a shift towards what leadership looks like.
“So there’s the look and feel of what traditional leadership looks like and that is quite authority driven. I think that we’re moving to a world where trust, authenticity and empathy are going to be leading the way and listening is the inner heart of those skills. If you can’t listen, you can’t do any of those things and that is the core of what leadership needs to be,” she said.
Hooper also touched on the notion of listening to understand and not listening to respond.
“In specific moments, yes, we need to turn our phones off, yes, we need to do those types of things and remind ourselves to be present, because otherwise I’m not going to hear what they’re saying, and all I’m going to think about is what I want to say next.”
Trimboli expressed that he actually has three songs that he listens to in order to stay listening and attentive and all songs are at three completely different tempos.
Sparrow shared that he finds it hard to sit still so he stretches and moves in order to stay listening and focused.
Nicole Blessing, Holly Langford and Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham
Holly Langford, account executive from This Is Flow found the session interesting as it made her think about listening in the sense of how it affects not only herself but also other people. She also said that the session motivated her to be a better listener and she plans to use the tips discussed in order to remain engaged.
“Something that resonated with me from the session was to be less self-conscious about how you might come across while listening. Everyone listens differently and acts differently, so doing what’s best for you without being conscious of how other people are going to take it really stuck with me,” she said.
Fellow account executive from This Is Flow, Nicole Blessing said she found the session truly insightful and expressed that it was her favourite session so far because of the interactive elements that provided incredible insights.
“After the session, I think what I’ll implement in my own work is switching off distractions such as emails, teams notifications and also silencing my phone while in meetings etc. Also, just drinking water or giving myself breaks in order to stay present and engaged,” she said.
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Top Image: Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Chloe Hooper and Oscar Trimboli
