Being a good listener is about two things: 

1. Demonstrating that you’ve heard exactly what was said by the other person.
2. Encouraging them to continue. This breaks down into what’s called “backchanneling” — offering short, enthusiastic responses as the other person t...

Ask yourself: What’s within my control? Is there something I can do right now? Can I make the situation better? Then do it. And do the job well. 

If you can’t, choose to do something else. Have different things in your life that you can give your attention to. For example: lea...

One way to avoid them is to “assume the burden of the conversation,” One might use self-disclosure to change the topic, and say, ‘Golf isn’t my thing, but I really like to cycle.’ Or, if someone asks about something sad or bad, throw the conversational ball back and say, ‘I just can’t talk about ...