Three decades later, O’Malley has built a career around helping people reconnect—first with themselves, then with each other. She earned her Master’s in Counseling, became Board-Certified in Coaching, and now leads global clients through her leadership and communication practice, (en)Courage Coaching. But her deepest insight is still rooted in that early lesson: listening is about presence, respect, and accountability.
In her TEDx talk, O’Malley introduced a deceptively simple formula called AIR: Attention, Intention, and Recognition. It’s a tool designed to help people communicate more meaningfully in a world that often discourages it.
“Listening is a function of attention,” O’Malley explains. “But attention alone isn’t enough. It has to be guided by
the intention to
understand—and the recognition of another person’s experience as their truth.”
She pairs this insight with compelling research: while humans speak at around 125 words per minute, the brain can process information up to four times faster. That gap leaves space for distractions, assumptions, and mental to-do lists to creep in. It’s no wonder that, according to studies dating back to the 1950s, we retain only about half of what we hear in conversation—and that number drops sharply within eight hours.
What makes O’Malley’s talk stand out isn’t just the data—it’s the practice. She offers real tools people can use immediately: how to paraphrase instead of jumping to questions, how to reflect feelings to show understanding, and how to use
nonverbal cues to signal attention.
Perhaps most
powerfully, she
urges audiences to
apply AIR to
themselves, too. By
recognizing their own
emotional responses,
judgments, and
triggers in real time,
listeners can increase
their capacity for
empathy, curiosity,
and connection.
“ In a billion-dollar
attention economy
designed to distract
us,” she says,
“choosing to really
listen is an act of
resistance.”
O’Malley’s message is striking in its humility and clarity. It doesn’t rely on jargon, hacks, or overpromises. It asks something harder: that we slow down, stay present, and make room for one another in a world that rewards interruption.
She closes her talk by honoring her late mother, Diane, whose quiet example laid the foundation for a life’s work rooted in compassion and communication. “Diane chose attention, intention, and recognition during a moment with me—and that choice transformed my life.”
As workplaces, families, and communities grapple with division, disconnection, and distrust, Katie O’Malley is making the case that the solution may be simpler—and more accessible—than we think.
It starts with listening.