VALENCIA, NEGROS ORIENTAL –Lately, every time I attend a public or private event that requires an audience’s attention, it never ceases to amaze me that when someone is speaking to a group, it seems that only a handful try their best to listen. The rest are either busy texting; or worse, busy talking on their cell phone or to someone about something else. Regardless of the kind of events that I attend, e.g. local meetings, school seminars, school plays, concerts and a couple of recitals; sadly, they all seem to be the same. The audience simply talks non-stop while a speaker or a performer is on duty. Frankly, I’m aghast to observe this kind of behavior, simply because we Filipinos are known to be one of the most polite people on earth.
When we were kids, we were always taught not to speak when someone else was talking. It’s part of our good manners training, that we learn not only at home but in school and in church as well. I actually tried to analyze this phenomenon by having a serious discourse with fellow professionals and friends who also complain about the same thing. Some say that it is because the audience are not interested in the program at hand or in the performer or public speaker. So my question is, if the audience is not interested to listen, then why come in the first place and just be a nuisance? I can understand if the audience is forced to attend an event against their will. The tendency is that if an event doesn’t interest them, then most likely people will not pay attention.
I’ve heard horror stories in some classroom settings where most students are just outright talking while the teacher is having a discussion with the class. And for some reason, it’s just tolerated. I am more inclined to fault the teacher for allowing this kind of atmosphere. Not only because it impinges learning for those students that take their studies seriously, but also for a teacher to allow such distraction in the classroom simply shows no control or competence in leadership. However, it is easy to assume that perhaps students are not listening to their teacher because they are bored and are not interested in the subject matter being discussed at that moment. Also because perhaps the teacher is boring and doesn’t create an interactive discussion that allows students to participate.
At a recent music recital that I attended, I was astonished that during the performance, cute little kids were running around the auditorium making noise like they were on a playground. It was distracting to the performance going on, but what annoyed me most was the lack of parent or teacher supervision. I am assuming that the parents or some significant people overseeing these kids were in the audience. Then, why are these kids on their own?
It is easy to judge and reprimand others to learn to listen, but I truly believe that it is essential that we must learn to listen when we are in a situation designed for us to keep quiet until the floor is ours to talk. We should try our best to be good listeners. We may learn something new, and perhaps experience some fresh ideas that can inspire us. What better way to delight our senses than by keeping our mouth shut even just for a minute, and allowing interesting experiences and information to flow into our consciousness.