Nixaly Leonardo opens with the single most common listening failure: mentally planning your reply while the other person is still talking, rather than actually absorbing what they're saying.

Signs you're doing this:

• Interrupting before someone finishes a thought
• Responding to what you assumed they'd say, not what they actually said
• Feeling defensive before they've even made their point

The fix starts with a simple internal check: am I formulating a reply right now, or am I actually tracking their words? Just noticing the difference in the moment is most of the battle.