Why Listening Is an Underrated Skill.
We talk a lot about communication. About articulation. About clarity. About saying the right thing at the right time.
But listening rarely gets the same attention.
Maybe because it looks simple.
Maybe because it doesn’t look like doing much.
Over time, I’ve realised this: we don’t really listen.
We mostly wait. We wait for our turn to speak. We wait to explain ourselves.
We wait to correct, to clarify, to reassure.
We wait to be understood.
Listening—the real kind—asks for something else altogether.
It asks us to slow down.
To stay present without planning the next sentence.
To sit with what is being said, and sometimes with what isn’t.
That’s harder than it sounds.
Because listening doesn’t give instant gratification.
It doesn’t offer the satisfaction of fixing things quickly.
It doesn’t put us at the centre of the moment.
And yet, I have seen how powerful it is.
I have seen students relax when they realise they don’t have to impress—only express.
I have seen colleagues soften when they feel safe enough to speak honestly.
I have seen conversations change course, not because of better advice, but because of quieter attention.
So many moments don’t need solutions.
They need space. They need patience.
They need someone who isn’t in a hurry to respond.
Listening is quiet work.
It doesn’t announce itself.
It doesn’t demand credit.
It doesn’t trend easily.
But it builds trust. It lowers defences.
It creates clarity—slowly, gently.
Maybe that’s why listening is underrated.
Because it asks us to step back.
To keep our ego aside.
To choose understanding over being right.
In a world where everyone is speaking,
the one who truly listens
stands out—not loudly, but meaningfully.
And perhaps we all remember a moment
when being heard mattered more
than being helped.
That’s the power of listening.
Subtle. Rare. And deeply human.
#GETSETGO
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