SAY IT BACK
sparring · repeat it, then add
THE DRILL
Repeat their specific detail back, then add your point, like: they say "budget got cut to forty thousand" and you say "Forty thousand, okay, so let us fund phase one."
Trains: Active listening: repeat back the specific thing they said, then add one point of your own.
Prove you actually heard them.
Live voice. They will say something. Answer it out loud, by the drill. Mic permission needed.