Do you listen to understand or to respond?
Listening seems simple. But the truth is, most of the time, we’re just silent - waiting for our turn to speak. This article is a kind of continuation of the previous one, where I reflected on the power of the right questions. There, I talked about how certain questions can open inner doors we didn’t even know were locked. But what’s the point of a good question if we’re not truly willing to hear the answer? Now I want to explore the other side of that coin: listening without filters, without rushing, and without planning an immediate response. It’s curious how often we think we’re listening to someone, when in reality, we’re just mentally preparing what we’re going to say next - or interpreting what the person is saying through our own lens. It’s like when two people are arguing, but in practice, they’re saying almost the same thing - just with different words, without really hearing one another. Listening becomes a battle of versions, not a space for understandin...
