Listen to understand the structure of someone’s thinking, not merely their conclusion.

Hearing someone’s conclusion tells you where they landed. Hearing how they got there tells you what they value, what they were weighing, and where the actual disagreement lies. Two people can reach the same conclusion for incompatible reasons, and opposite conclusions from nearly identical concerns.

When someone says what they think, ask how they got there before responding to the position. The reasoning is more informative and often more agreeable than the conclusion. It also shows you exactly where to engage, if you want to, rather than arguing with the endpoint.