There’s a big difference between listening and waiting to talk.
Listening is a real skill. Most people aren’t listeners, they’re wait-to-talkers. They say they had a conversation when really they just waited for the chance to speak.
A listener confirms what they heard. A listener acknowledges. A listener asks questions.
The more interested you are in the other person, the more interesting you’ll be to them.
Try it out today: give someone the gift of listening to them. Tell them what you hear. Acknowledge what they’re saying. The quality of your conversations will increase tenfold.