Jim’s stories from a bench fascinate Rotary audience
Reminiscences of conversations with people sitting on a bench somewhere in Shropshire thoroughly entertained Rotarians and guests in a visitor’s talk of a totally different kind.
People’s personal stories, whether intelligent and informed, or just pure quirky, were fascinatingly relayed by ‘Hello You’ Shropshire podcaster Jim Hawkins when he visited Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club.
Some of his most enlightening conversations with people who have sat with him on a bench engaged Rotarians and visitors for nearly an hour as he also invited them to ‘Join the Hello You Family.”
By way of explanation, he told the meeting: “This is intelligent, informed, progressive and quirky conversation about Shropshire and the wider world – made for curious and caring people.
“I believe in public service audio journalism which I have done all my career and have been to every single bench imaginable in the county.
“As a result, all fascinating and humorous from loads of bench stories.
“I sit on a bench and stop to talk to people who stopped. This is bench theatre.
“It is appreciating people who are in your life as well as appreciating yourself in whatever way you want to.”
He went on: “The sound of a podcast can be fascinating – I record the sound of the place in recording which is a fascinating thing to do.
“The public question as always ‘perfect me to make the world a better place’ which has made me think a lot about the benefit of interacting which is what I now want to learn more about.”
And his advice? “Listen – and then listen harder. You don’t learn anything when you are talking. You have to be open to learning. Think about what you have learned. And listen actively.
“Active listening is a communication technique which involves fully concentrating, understanding and remembering what has been said.
“If you can avoid interrupting so much the better. Let whoever is speaking finish their thoughts before you respond and resist the urge to jump in with your advice – your opinion – too quickly.
“Acknowledge the feelings of the speaker and respond in a thoughtful way to what is being said. Pay attention to the people that other people don’t pay attention to.”
Jim, who was born in 1962 and has suffered two heart attacks, added: “There is the need to impart what I have learnt to other people as we live in a very different world to the one I started working in 47 years ago.”
And as a classical music enthusiast, his unfulfilled ambition is to obtain the ‘Black Sabbath Suite’.
Anyone wishing to know more about Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club can contact president@shrewsburysevernrotaryclub.co.uk or vicepresident@shrewsburysevernrotaryclub.co.uk
