Looking back, I can still remember scampering to the reading circle on the rug in elementary school. I don’t remember the names of the books the teacher read, but I do remember the feelings of being excited and comforted as I was being read to, stretched out on the rug.
When did we stop reading out loud?
Words are meant to be heard. In fact, ancient clay tablets are engraved with words that translate to “listen,” or “cry out.” Town criers shouted messages to towns before books were readily available.
On the scientific side, reading out loud:
- Improves memory. The act of forming words and saying them out loud increases your ability to remember them.
- Increases your comprehension of ideas. Hearing the words aurally helps you understand and internalize them.
- Enhances social connections and creates a bond of physical closeness.
- Is a form of entertainment – but it is not just entertainment: it’s a form of beauty – a kind of music created by the rhythm, the speed, the lyricism of the words. Reading out loud reminds us of the beauty of the spoken word, something we lose when we read quickly and silently to ourselves.
We are never too young or too old to be read to.
On the human side, the best part of reading out loud is the connection between people. There is a tenderness in listening to someone you love and letting go of all thoughts and feelings beyond their voice.
I have been reading to my husband, Mark, who has advanced dementia. There is a sense of pure affection between us, even if he doesn’t understand the words. The soothing rhythm of reading creates a calmness, a closeness, and an emotional response, that leads to greater feelings of intimacy. These are the gifts of reading stories out loud.
A Native American proverb highlights the profound power of storytelling:
Tell me a fact and I’ll listen.
Tell me a truth and I’ll learn.
But tell me a story, and it will live in my heart forever.
Reflection: What stories were read to you that still “live in your heart?”
Today’s Practice: Can you create an opportunity to read to someone?