Try this
- Summarize the other person’s point in one or two sentences, keeping your interpretation separate.
- Ask whether the summary is accurate. If corrected, update the wording before using it as the basis for a plan.
A worked example
“Have I understood that you want fewer plans, not less time together?”
An invented example to adapt, not a real exchange or a script you have to follow.
Before you leave it here
Revise your summary if it is wrong; do not defend it as close enough.