It’s worth paying attention to attention

Pay attention while you listen. Framing, paraphrasing, analysing, summarising. Those all come later. Attention first.

Pay attention while you speak. Notice your tone, pace, volume … and how these affect others listening to you.

Pay attention to your internal dialogue. That’s the voice inside that distracts, interrupts, and meta-comments. Notice what you notice.

Then (after the meeting ends) ask yourself, “How do I improve the quality of my attention next time?”