Repeat Yourself, a Lot
A somewhat related approach that I’ve found incredibly useful in my career is repeating what -others- have told you back to them, a lot.<p>It’s honestly amazing to me how much mileage I’ve gotten out of simply saying, “I heard you say X about Y. Does that sound right to you?” a couple of times during discussions just to make sure that everyone is clear that we’re all discussing the same thing.<p>It seems like “common sense” to clarify your understanding of someone else’s communication but I haven’t run into very many people who actually take the time to do it.