7 Signs You're Listening to Respond (Not Understand)

1. You're already forming your rebuttal while they're talking.

2. You interrupt.

Not to clarify. To counter.

1. You respond with "Yeah, but..."

Dismissal disguised as engagement.

1. You shift the topic to yourself.

Their story becomes your story.

1. You offer solutions before empathy.

Sometimes they just need to be heard.

1. You remember what to argue but not what they said.

2. You feel attacked when they express feelings.

Their vulnerability isn't an accusation.

Listening is a skill. And most of us are amateurs pretending to be pros.