Listening is part of the reporting.

The most useful detail is sometimes the one we almost missed.

When someone shares an experience, the first account may not be the whole account. Follow-up questions, pauses and a willingness to check assumptions can change what the story becomes.

Listening well does not mean abandoning verification. It gives us a better starting point for understanding what needs to be verified and whose voice is absent.

The reader benefits when the story gives people their full context rather than using a single quote to stand in for a life.