Better Listening — NOT Through AI

Audience: Leaders, CEOs, Founders/ Owners, Managers

Overview: An exploration of practical listening approaches that strengthen leadership conversations—and why authentic empathy still outperforms artificial intelligence.

There are times when I become someone who is not a particularly good listener.

I remember attending a presentation a few years back to learn how to become a better one - and it helped me identify when I go off track.

However, the BBC post I’m referring to does NOT reflect my feelings about AI and what type of ‘listener’ it is. Because AI isn’t my specialty. I also recognize AI can do serious harm when it comes to human emotions.

This post caught my eye because of the points it shared about what helps us – humans—become better listeners. Because when it comes to supervising and developing human beings, it’s the listening that’s key…with feedback arriving later.

The post speaks to eight types of listening approaches and I’m sure they are all important.

However, I’m only covering the first four…with the belief that they might be the most helpful when it comes to professional discussions.

The Power of Uninterrupted Attention

This is the one I personally struggle with the most. It’s the sheer interest of the topic or issue that leads me to interrupt because I want to learn more. I’m a work in progress. When I began practicing more patience, I immediately realized the value: more information, more connection, more of just about everything needed for meaningful human interaction.

Pick Up on Emotions

This approach has more of a nuance and is critical to just about any conversation.  It’s about actively listening and observing, then asking if the person is upset about something. Follow-up questions to pinpoint the root cause of the emotion that is causing a roadblock – preventing the person from moving forward.

Holding Space for Difficult Emotions

From time to time, most of us have had the experience of being involved in a difficult conversation – be it personal or professional. This section of the post provides some great information on how to manage this.

Non-Judgmental Presence

No one likes to have a conversation and feel like someone is judging them based on their actions or comments. No one.

This last part of the post was about listening with empathy and titled “The Limitations of Algorithmic Empathy.”

For this, I’ll repeat what the post said:“AI chatbots are not displaying real empathy, but rather simulating it based on what they have learned from huge datasets of human interactions.”

I was trained to understand the difference between empathy and compassion.

Understanding the differences and using them can happen frequently and are important because everyone wants to feel that they were heard by someone who genuinely cares.

• Empathy means you can relate to someone’s situation because you have experienced something similar in your life.

• Compassion means you have not experienced the same situation, but you can step into their shoes to see and feel how they feel.

Lots of information on communicating with care and integrity that we can all benefit from understanding and practicing.

No better time to begin than…now.

Cynthia Kyriazis is the Chief Experience Officer at The Culture Think Tank. Her experience includes executive coaching, consulting, and training. Book a 15-minute chat to discuss your people, performance, or profit challenges.