For those unfamiliar with the concept a talking stick is a ceremonial item used to give everyone in a discussion a chance to speak and be heard. Its passed around and no one interrupts the one with the 'stick' regardless if the speaker is 5 or 85, 'right' or 'wrong'.
In addition to letting everyone be heard it gives at least the common ground of a baseline of respect.

I just finished my first one and it got me to wondering what others use for theirs, or if anyone else uses one.
Show em if your thus inclined
Dont be embarrassed if its a stuffed pikachu doll, you wouldnt be the first

Heres the one I made...

Color enhanced quartz crystal cluster top, violet CZ gem in a 7-faceted stainless steel setting I made, and a couple hematite cabochons. The stick is oregon crabapple.
To cut a 7-sided object you have to elevate it to the right angle and turn it in increments of 51.43°, this is why you should stay awake in maths )

The last several generations in my family havent gone down so well so I've been reviving the traditions of my great grandparents and great-great-grandparents. The last generation in my family to respect and use the talking stick was my fathers mothers mothers mothers family.

Beautiful! I can't post a picture, because I don't have one. This is a project that will be near the top of my list. Maybe I'm jaded, but I feel that a very high % of conversations are comprised of people simply waiting for their turn to talk. I know I'm very guilty of this.

I think this is a great tool to make people focus on the act of listening. Thanks for the idea.

Peace and Love to you my friend. It may be a while, but I'll post again to this thread when I have one of my own.

If you think about it though, isn't it the opposite? I mean, it is a talking stick not a listening stick. I feel (depending on how the stick is used) that it might make one feel more like they need to have something well constructed to say once it's their turn, so instead of listening to whoever is talking they'll just be focusing on organizing what they're going to say once its their turn, and thus defeating the purpose of this whole thing. It's too focused on the talking part.

This is just a thought, but maybe it would be better to have a set of listening sticks. This way, the people who should be listening have a very clear idea of what their job is in the discussion until it's their turn, and they'll be reminded constantly of it by the stick they're holding. This makes much more sense does it not?

Interesting idea in regards to a set of listening sticks tho, I could see that.

In the talking stick tradition its expected that everyone else listens, but yeah not everyone will. Its like that to some degree in any situation regardless of what is or isnt in their hand, getting respect to be stronger than greed and ego is not always easy particularly if you try to teach it to adults.
Its probably most effective when kids grow up with it. Kids typically have a hard time feeling valued and understood, particularly in the west. Something that shows them theyre opinion is listened to and valued is more likely to be respected.
It may take a couple generations for the full benefit to flower in a family.