Pick a shallow friend and deepen via 3 of Aron's 36 questions.

Sit in your chair, then mentally move to the other person's chair and retell the situation from their view.

Replace the rote "how are you" with "what was the best part of your week?".

In some cultures "yes" means "I heard", not "I agree" — ask explicitly.

Before asking a high-context colleague for something, reshape your direct ask into a polite hint.

Before reading a colleague's silence in a meeting, ask: is it thinking, respect, or deferred refusal?