Some people do this more naturally than others, but it’s a great skill to develop. Especially in pastoral ministry.
The fact is, when you speak to people (anyone) those people are going react to things you say. That is, they will react in some way. It’s just worth thinking about how they might react. Give yourself a little bet. Don’t tell anyone else, just yourself. See if you can guess their response.
If you’re right, bully for you. If you’re wrong… there’s a great learning experience!
Why were you wrong? How far off were you? How could you have predicted that response? What data were you missing? What aspect of their emotions/personality/history did you not take into account enough?
How did the way you communicate affect the way they responded?
In the end, it stops being about them, and starts being about you… your role in their response, your ability to perceive what’s going on.