If you really want to listen, listen like an artist. Artists take notice of the small, subtle things. If you have ever taken a drawing or painting class, you learn to see shadows that you never noticed before. Recently, I have been reading about and studying body language. I have begun to notice what people say with their bodies, like the artist sees shadows.
Pay attention today and see what shadows present themselves in your conversations with others. What is the speaker’s tone? Why the timing of the message? Was the delivery planned or situational? Was the message delivered when you were alone with the speaker or with others? Was the message to inform, persuade, appease? What is the question they are answering when they share with you?