In an age punctuated by constant chatter and phone notifications, Japanese-American author Haru Yamada hopes to get people to do something radical: just to listen.<\/p>\n
For London-based Yamada, a sociolinguist who studies how society and culture shape language use, the idea grew not only from decades of research but from an experience that brought her close to silence.<\/p>\n
She was in the intensive care unit of a London hospital recovering from an accident that was going to take away her ability to hear, when she learned to really listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to heal not only through the medical interventions of surgeries, lung drains, IVs and artificial ventilators, but also through the support of listeners,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe light-bulb moment came when I realised that the benefit of listening lies not only in receiving information, but in the energy of connection we experience when we witness one another in relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Haru](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2025\/11\/10\/53336879-6671-48e8-b0ed-e772209fd915_20167f5b.jpg\" "\\"Haru")
<\/div>This sparked the idea for her new book, Kiku: The Japanese Art of Good Listening<\/em>, which explores how to listen \u2013 kiku<\/em>, in Japanese \u2013 can heal, connect and transform relationships.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n