Listen without an agenda
Have this ever happened to you: you’re talking to someone, perhaps sharing a matter of deep concern, when you notice they have a far-off look in their eye. When you finish talking the person responds with an odd-sounding anecdote that doesn’t make sense until you realize a slight connection with something you said very early in your remarks. Or worse yet, have you ever been listening to someone when they say something that causes your mind to immediately think of…