In this era of multitasking, you probably excel at listening even as you do other things. But it’s not enough to be skilled at listening if, in the process, you convey the impression that you’re not listening. Make sure the people you're communicating with know you're listening to them by employing these simple tips.

To successfully persuade someone of something, it’s important to keep in mind how you come across to others—when you’re trying to persuade and when you’re not. It's a good idea to build up trust and credibility before you need something, listen to others when they're in need, and think about tailoring your message.

With a week full of sessions, tutorials, training classes, and events, the Agile + DevOps East software conference had plenty of takeaways. Here are four highlights, including discussions about agile estimation, finding your ideal job, some challenges to advancing test automation, and leading self-organizing teams.