[cleaver]

I never devoted any effort to learning how to listen until the past few years. It makes a huge difference in having a good conversation. It's lots of fun to bring back what someone said earlier, often in a humorous way.

It helps to show interest in your conversation partner, not as technique of influence, but because people can be generally more interesting if you pay attention.

The number one indicator of poor listening for me is holding a response in my head and just waiting until the other person finishes talking so I can spew my wisdom. Taking an improv class or three helps a lot in learning to listen.