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The art of listening and hearing are important to a good conversation, evolving around the ability to hear correctly while using both ears creatively and artistically. Listening is based on one fact---we listen through the body part where our conscious is focused at. For example, if we are a mentally developed individual, we will focus on strengths or weaknesses throughout the conversation based on these mental abilities. If the listeners are strong in the emotional fields, what they will listen to will be based on their emotional states, instead of allowing the mental field to also play a part in the discourse.

Our dreams and wishes play a strong role in what we wish to hear. In other words, "we hear what we want to hear" whether it is what the speaker is actually saying or not. Because of this, we need to understand that all speech has an emphasis on meaning, significance and the spoken words which can be based on the speaker or the listener. What is heard is based on the personal perceptions of the listener, not just what flows into the ears. The significance of all speech has a meaning—it can be hidden beneath the meanings of the words or it can make that meaning subjected to personal desires. By repeating the words back to ourself or to the speaker, the words' meaning becomes clearer if there is an open mind and a desire for the real truth.

A good listener should realize that a speaker has several reasons why that person is speaking: to share knowledge and information; to entertain, reveal needs and give orders, with discipline over their speech if they are establishing correct communication with a certain amount of subjectivity. Therefore, a good listener should remain free of personal prejudices in order to find the truth in a message which may have several reasons why it is being spoken, if truth is what they are after. Many simply want someone to verify their own opinions by bringing their own prejudices into play when interpretating the speaker's meaning---"So-and-so agrees with me!" when so-and-so said anything but that.

Many things are brought into the art of listening, such as physical and mental aspects, as a good speaker talks to each layer of the human body. But subjectivity is the most important thing of all to apply when listening to someone, as many speakers may be telling you something with hidden meanings. But if you are not listening accurately, it will be missed and a false meaning could be applied to the conversation. Well-formulated conversation may be taking place, but the true meaning of the speaker can be taken into the wrong context if personal prejudices are brought to the forefront—"you already know it!" based on what you want to know or what you want out of the conversation—such as not listening to what the speaker is actually saying; or anything not agreeing with your own personal opinion is based on lies and falsehoods; or their opinions and prejudices are in danger from the conversation, so it is perceived as a threat; and it is a destructive conversation as the listener's own opinions are not being verified.

Prejudice consumes the majority of inept listeners, with this negativity occurring before ever fully hearing or understanding the words being spoken. What is being listened to are one's inner thoughts and opinions, not actually hearing what is being spoken to them. The way to test this is by answering the question, "What is the statement or question the speaker just said?" throughout the communication or lecture. By interacting occasionally with the speaker, one can stay connected with the real meaning of the speaker with "Did you mean this?" or "Did you mean that?" If this is not possible, with the listener refusing to listen or walking away, some danger from the speaker is present within the listener that should be looked at. Are the words threatening, or are they considered as lies even though they may not be listened to with true context? This lack of communication is what causes the strife and misery of the world, with very few listeners able to accurately understand what is being said---or the speaker inaccurately being able to state his true meaning. Working at increasing the quality of listening by remaining quiet and intent on the words being spoken will help, or asking a question if the meaning is not understood, until the true intent of the speaker is understood.