Critical listening is what you should be doing when your opponent is speaking. But empathetic listening is what you should be doing when an audience member is speaking. Empathetic listening is about connecting with the speaker and trying to see the world through that person’s eyes. The goal of empathetic listening is to focus on the speaker’s views and to understand where that person is coming from. It requires you to give your “full attention” to the other person, writes listening expert Ximena Vengoechea, and to show empathy (obviously!) as well as humility.
