People who seem like they're paying attention often aren't—even when they're smiling and nodding toward the speaker. Research by Alison Wood Brooks, Hanne Collins, and colleagues reveals just how prone the mind is to wandering, and sheds light on ways to stay tuned in to the conversation
It’s a common experience in the workplace: You leave a meeting feeling good about the discussion and believe everyone is on the same page.
“Then you meet with someone two days later, and you realize they’re not on the same page at all,” says Hanne Collins, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Business School. “You feel like maybe they weren’t totally listening.”
This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.