The Power of Embodied Communication and Listening in Sign Language

Listening and unation are all-body activities that require holding space for someone else with attention and embodying communication. Sign language can evoke more emotions than words and highlights the importance of embodied communication. The trope in the deaf community that hearing people are emotionally repressed because they hide behind words offers an awakening to the meaning of words. Learning sign language for seven months led to a deep connection between the speaker and their instructor and increased emotional expression.