Listening as a Tool for Transformative Change in Families and Neighborhoods: The case of SALT

Consistent listening to community voices throughout the life cycle of programs and interventions is increasingly recognized as a key to sustainable transformation of communities. Current listening approaches rely on the agency in the listener to listen at individual and mass levels. However, the absence of engagement of agency in the listened to limits its transformation potential to individual levels. SALT (Support/Appreciate/Listen/Team) based listening connects to the agency of the listened to at scale through home- and neighborhood-based conversations. Experiences of using SALT in drug de-addiction, a community development via a corporate social responsibility program, and a suicide survivor support program reveal three distinct characteristics of transformation at scale. These are as follows: (1) SALT is a mindset that listens to strengths, hopes, and concerns in people; (2) listening and agency building at scale is embedded in a process of home- and neighborhood-based reflective learning; and (3) empowerment of communities beyond geographic boundaries is possible through organic transfer and adaptation of organizational practices. Acknowledging the common humanity that underlies the listener and listened to opens doors for deep listening, mutual listening, and transformative listening in homes, neighborhoods, and institutions.