Activity Tuesday: Listen Until They Say "Yes"

A simple exercise that reveals how often we listen to respond instead of listening to understand.

Most people believe they are good listeners.

Then they try this activity.

Listen Until They Say “Yes” is a deceptively simple exercise that challenges participants to do something most of us rarely do: listen without preparing a response, forming a judgment, or jumping in with advice.

One person shares an experience. The other person’s job is not to solve the problem, tell a similar story, or offer suggestions. Their only job is to listen and summarize what they heard. The conversation continues until the speaker responds with four powerful words:

“Yes, that’s it.”

What follows is often eye-opening.

Participants discover how quickly they make assumptions, how often they focus on facts while missing emotions, and how difficult it can be to truly understand another person’s perspective. More importantly, they experience what it feels like to be genuinely heard.

For leaders, trainers, coaches, managers, and anyone who works with people, that lesson is invaluable.

Paid subscribers get the complete facilitator guide, debrief questions, leadership adaptations, and ready-to-run PDF. If you want practical tools that help you build stronger communication, trust, coaching, and leadership effectiveness, this is the kind of resource built for your toolkit.