Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

Listening is harder than speaking. Even the best listeners sometimes have to bite their tongues to stop from reacting, interrupting, or trying to console the person talking. Here are three ways you can truly listen:

1. Avoid distractions. This doesn’t just mean putting down the Blackberry or closing your web browser. Try not to think about what you’re going to say next. Simply focus on what the other person says.

2. Repeat back. This sometimes feels silly, but repeating back what you heard shows the other person that you’re listening.

3. Ask thoughtful questions. Ask open-ended questions that help you see the issue more clearly and allow your conversation partner to go deeper into what he cares about.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “How to Really Listen” by Peter Bregman.

To read that article and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out the new book, Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, based on HBR’s Management Tip of the Day by clicking here.