When a friend is talking, resist loading your reply. Hearing the end of their story changes what you’d say.

Preparing your response means you stop listening halfway through. Whatever you have ready is based on the first part of what they said, and people usually get to the real thing at the end. You can tell when someone does this to you, which means they can tell when you do it.

Sit on your answer until they stop. If something occurs to you in the middle, let it go; it will come back if it matters. Then ask one question before you give an opinion, which buys you time and usually gets you the information you were missing. Being listened to properly is rarer than advice.