In one of my writing courses, I heard an excelent idea of how to combat this tendency. After the other person is done speaking, you give your own interpretation of what they said. The other person will then either correct you (and then repeat the process), or you go on with your own point. It might make for a very redundant means to communicate, but it's more robust as a direct result.
"There is no shame in being self-taught, only in not trying to learn in the first place." -- Atrus, Myst: The Book of D'ni.