Just another note on listening. I learned this in the IBM course on project management, which I attended in the 1970s. The most effective way to make a person feel heard is the reflective response. That means, when someone says something to you, repeat it back to them in your own words, or even in the same words. Carl Rogers invented this technique when he was inventing psychotherapy, and every therapist knows it works. I have used it in interviewing, and it definitely keeps people talking.

Christine Slivon

We speak in many dialects. Some speak when spoken to. Other speak without saying anything. Others speak about anything but what they are really concerned about. Only relationship can resolve these dialects into dialogue. Relationships can tip you off that their words and music don’t quite mesh and encourage you to ask about the resulting puzzle.
We are moving so fast (or trying to) that slowing down to the posted speed limit is difficult, often impossible. Listening is a speed reducer. I try to adopt the ethic that reminds me that I’m only listening to the extent that I’m prepared to be changed by what I hear. If I don’t expect to be changed by what I hear, what reason would I ever have for slowing down to the speed of cognition?