Tell me about a mistake you made because you didn't really listen to what someone was telling you. What did you miss?
Why this works
Listening is the half of communication candidates never expect to be asked about, so there's no script. The honest version shows what makes them stop hearing — being the expert, being in a hurry, disliking the messenger — and whether they've built any defense against it since.
Follow-up probes
- What was the person actually trying to tell you?
- Why didn't it get through — what were you doing instead?
- What tells you today that you're not really listening?
What good looks like
The missed message stated in the other person's terms, a named cause rather than "it was a busy week", real consequences owned, and a concrete habit — repeating back, slowing down — in place since.
Red flags
The miss is pinned on how badly the other person explained it, the consequence is glossed over, or "it taught me to listen" arrives with nothing specific to show for it.
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