Listening in silence to someone with depression might increase their social anxiety, study suggests - PsyPost

But a study published in the Journal of Social Psychology suggests that for some personalities, listening quietly to them actually makes them feel anxious.

Listening techniques are used by therapists to help patients feel safe and in the business world as part of sales tactics.

They proposed that time-sharing would lower social anxiety among speakers with high levels of narcissism since such individuals will likely enjoy being able to dominate the conversation uninterrupted.

According to the authors, a potential topic for future studies would be to test the optimal duration of time-sharing for positive outcomes.

“Further research, including a larger sample and participants who have received training in listening, is needed to confirm the robustness of our findings.”

A deeper understanding of how personalities contribute to successful communication could lead to more effective ways of fostering productive conversations.”