SHUSH

As you said, we do have listening tips. You can get them from any Samaritans branch, just knock on the door, go online, and you can get them. And it's dead easy, it's just dead easy. It's SHUSH. If you remember that, you can pick it all the way up. And it shows you care, focus on the person, eye contact, show them that you are going to listen, have patience, give the person space, the opportunity to talk about what it is they want to talk about. You use open questions. You know, "How are you? How's that? Does this? How... " Not... You know, don't close questions, open questions, give it to expands. Say it back. As I said, reflect. "Well, you talked about this and you talked about that, can you expand upon that? Can you tell me a bit more about... "

These are all questioning and techniques anybody can use. It sounds very, very complicated, but it's not. I mean, we are using these words but it's no different than, "How are ya? How did your potatoes do in the show? How big was the fish? Did you catch any fish?" And the biggest one that you got to have is courage. Sounds daft, but not to gabble. When that person says to you, "I'd like to talk to you," it might take them four or five minutes before they have got the question in them that they want to come out with, whatever it is. So there is nothing to be feared from silence. It could be that "Oh come then." And just take them outside, going in the smoking shelter, going to a pub, go and sit in your car, let them have space, let them have the confidence that you are going to listen to them and let them come back and allow you to help them. Yeah, just SHUSH and you will get these things from Samaritans.