Across our society today, norms of noisiness run deep. Demands like constant connectivity and maintaining a competitive advantage still prevail in most office cultures. Few organizations prize or prioritize pristine human attention. But there are simple strategies we can employ in order to find our own personal sanctuaries and to shift broader cultures. By reclaiming silence in the workplace, we can create the conditions for reducing burnout and enhancing creative problem solving.

Validation means that you recognize another person’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as understandable. Communicating that recognition is one of the most important parts of active listening. It shows another person that we hear them and provides an invitation for them to elaborate if they choose. S

Strong listening skills can make a critical difference in the performance of senior executives, but few are able to cultivate them. Here’s how.

September 30, 2020 Federal Hall - New York, NY Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis plays America's "unofficial anthem” — Amazing Grace — and explains how listening, im...

Oscar Trimboli

The Wild

Lessons in the art of listening, from a C.I.A. agent, a focus group moderator and more.

As we progress in our careers our passion has a tendency to wane. We often forget why we started down the path in the first place. The young remind us why we started …

Tom Henschel

by Kenneth E. Miller Ph.D.

You can’t build consensus by arguing.

Justin Baldoni wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity -- to figure out ways to be not just good men but good humans. In a warm, personal talk, he shares his effort to reconcile who he is with who the world tells him a man should be. And he has a challenge for men: "See if you can use the same qualities that you feel make you a man to go deeper," Baldoni says. "Your strength, your bravery, your toughness: Are you brave enough to be vulnerable? Are you strong enough to be sensitive? Are you confident enough to listen to the women in your life?"

When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed."

This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about leadership and management. Follow us at @Globe_Careers Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab.

It’s about more than keeping quiet.

A woman shares what she learned in the final days of her mother's life.

Try not to go on for more than 40 seconds at a time.

We can cultivate empathy throughout our lives, says Roman Krznaric—and use it as a radical force for social transformation.

Bonni and I make a point to drop...