Yes, for sure. In the different forums that I've worked in and spoken in, I have found that listening to understand opens up a more productive dialogue and one that is more conducive to learning from different perspectives, from speaking with my children to speaking professionally.
When you just listen to respond, it demonstrates that you're listening in a defensive mode, that you're already blocked up and you're not opening yourself up to understanding. You're having a discussion or a forum to engage in and to learn from, and you're only speaking to respond and critique what you're hearing, instead of saying, “Okay, tell me more.”
We may have disagreements. We may not understand each other, but the whole point of having a conversation and communicating with each other is to learn what those points of view are. We can agree to disagree; that's fair. That happens at my table. We can agree to disagree. I am the youngest at my table of 12. That honestly gives me a different perspective from that of the oldest or the longest-standing member of my table.
It's good to have that kind of diversity. It's good to have those kinds of dialogues and discussions, because you bring out different perspectives to one common goal. You bring out all of these different things that you may not have considered. There are a lot of things that I may not have considered. For example, you could say, “This is what I understand about this. Okay, do you know what? Maybe we can bring this in too.” That's how you learn. That's how you progress, and that's how you can be conducive to resolving issues.