Learning to Truly Listen

Listening: An Often Overestimated Skill

In our daily exchanges, we often believe we are listening. In reality, we are already preparing our response, judging, categorizing, looking for a solution, or simply waiting for our turn to speak. This way of interacting, though common, profoundly limits the quality of our relationships — particularly in professional environments where the stakes are numerous and emotions are rarely expressed.

To Listen is to Be Present — Without Intervening Too Soon

To truly listen is to offer the other person a space for expression where they feel welcomed, heard, and understood. This requires slowing down our internal rhythm, suspending the flow of our thoughts, and accepting not to intervene immediately. It is not about being passive, but about being fully there. This posture strengthens trust, defuses tension, and allows more authentic words to emerge.

True listening transforms not only the speaker, but also the listener.

The Benefits of Deep Listening in the Workplace

In a professional setting, active listening allows you to:

• better understand the real needs of a colleague or a client;
• identify weak signals, unspoken issues, and emerging tensions;
• create an environment where everyone dares to speak, propose, and express a difficulty;
• and nurture a culture of more fluid and human collaboration.

Managers who develop this capacity see more creativity, cooperation, and more authentic engagement emerge from their teams.

What Blocks Our Listening — and How to Overcome It

Several obstacles steer us away from quality listening:

• The Need for Control: wanting to lead the conversation, direct, or convince.
• Urgency: the feeling of lacking time to "just let them speak."
• The Mental Filter: listening while filtering everything through our beliefs and judgments.
• The Fear of Not Knowing What to Say: which pushes us to interrupt or redirect.

Becoming aware of these traps is already the first step. Next, it involves exercising our attention, our capacity to remain centered, curious, and available.

A Simple Act, A Profound Impact

Listening is perhaps one of the simplest and most powerful gestures we can offer. No need to be a communication expert: you just need to be there, truly.

The next time a colleague or collaborator speaks to you, try this:

• Truly look at them.
• Allow silences without filling them.
• Rephrase what you have understood, without judgment.

And observe what happens.