Listening to hear, as opposed to listening to respond, is the subject of this Short video for entrepreneurs and professionals. Are you listening to hear or are you listening to respond? The full transcription and questions and answers follow the video.
This video first went up on YouTube on June 13, 2025. The written post was added on November 13, 2026.
Table of Contents
What Is the Difference Between Listening to Hear and Listening to Respond?
Listening to hear can mean taking in the full extent of what someone shares, while listening to respond can mean preparing a rebuttal to the first few seconds of it. Preparing that rebuttal early, in Loren Weisman’s view, can come off defensive, weak and one sided, and the rest of the message may be lost.
- Defensiveness can show up when a conversation carries friction, debate or a counter point.
- A person who starts preparing a response after 10 seconds may lose the next 20 to 50 seconds of what is said.
- Listening to hear can support better communication, better transparency and better relationships.
- Preparing a response with no respect for what someone is sharing can keep the debate, fight or argument going.
Listening to Hear: The Full Transcription
Listening to Hear or Listening to Respond
Are you listening to hear or are you listening to respond? My name is Loren Weisman, I’m a brand, communications and optics strategist. And my question for you today is are you listening to hear or are you listening to respond?
Preparing a Response Too Soon
Oftentimes when somebody is being shared something and it might be something of friction or debate or counter, whatever, a defensiveness starts to show up where a person begins to prepare their response as opposed to hearing what is being told to them. So they’re in their mind, they hear something and then maybe at that point they’re going, okay, I need to prepare a response based on these 10 seconds.
Then for the next 20, 30, 40, 50 seconds, they’re losing anything else that’s coming in because they’re just preparing a rebuttal or to respond to the very beginning of what they heard.
Listening to the Full Extent
If you’re looking to have better communication, better transparency, better relationships, consider listening, listening to hear the full extent over listening to respond, where that can oftentimes come off defensive, it can come off weak and it comes off very arrogant and one sided.
Because if you’re immediately starting to prepare your response with no respect for the array of what someone is sharing, then that debate, that fight and that argument is just going to keep continuing on.
Listening and Communication in My Talks
Choosing what to listen to, how it applies to you, where it relates to and when to change.
Questions and Answers
Why do people prepare a response instead of listening?
People can start preparing a response when defensiveness shows up, often in a moment of friction or debate. The person may hear the first part of a message and begin building a rebuttal instead of hearing what is being told to them.
How does listening to respond affect an argument?
Listening to respond can keep an argument going. When someone prepares a reply with no respect for the full range of what the other person is sharing, the debate, the fight and the argument can keep continuing on.
How can listening to hear improve relationships?
Listening to hear can lead to better communication, better transparency and better relationships. Taking in the full message before replying may also avoid a response that comes off defensive, weak or one sided.
More Videos and the Podcast
- Brand Comms and Ops: All Things Considered Shorts on YouTube
- Loren Weisman Video Shorts on YouTube: 20 More
- Wait What Really OK podcast
Loren Weisman is a Brand Communications and Optics Strategist who specializes in illuminating authoritative intelligence and amplifying authentic experts.
Weisman is the host of the brand communications and optics podcast Wait What Really OK.
© 2011 to 2026 Loren Weisman. All Rights Reserved ® ℗
Listening to Hear or Listening to Respond?