The art of listening: Utilising communication in iGaming

In the latest of our learning series with Saroca, Emily Haruko Leeb writes for iGBA on one of the key pillars of communication: listening. She breaks down some pitfalls from iGaming meetings where just hearing what’s going on isn’t enough.

In this article, we’re looking at the principles of communication and inclusion as we lead the igaming industry forward, and we hope, upward.

One of the largest overlooked tools in communication is listening. What we find in working with many tech companies is that most individuals and leaders don’t actually listen at all. In fact, if we really dissect what’s happening, we find most people are waiting to speak. They already know what they want to say and thus sort of ignore what is actually happening inside the conversation.

Aiming for collaborative dialogue is one of our principles of communication. Miki Kashtan describes this perfectly with their quote, “True dialogue can only happen if I enter the conversation willing to be changed by it.” What this means is that when you’re truly listening, you likely have no idea what you’ll say next because you are deeply present to the words (and the meaning of the words and all the nonverbals on display) that are coming out of the person's mouth you’re communicating with. 

We cultivate this skill with teams by doing exercises in presence and expanding our capacity to ‘be with’ people. Imagine if you were approached by your favourite footballer, the CEO of your most sought-after company, or your favourite musician or DJ - I promise your level of presence would be much different from the way you’re tuned into the affiliate manager complaining about CRM and promotions.

What if you could bring the same level of presence and listening to your team as you would to one of your heroes? Do you think this might change your game when it comes to how you communicate? I’ll bet it would.

The listening deficit

Here’s the truth: most leaders think they listen. And I can assure you, they don’t. They wait. As mentioned, they wait to interject, they wait to speak or are already planning their rebuttal. They operate from a closed loop. In iGaming, where everything moves at warp speed, if you don’t truly listen, you’re blind to signals, user feedback, employee distress and latent innovation.

At Saroca, we run presence exercises that refine our communication, expand our nervous system and enhance our listening skills. You’ll be shocked by what emerges: marginalia, emotional subtext, real conflict under the surface. This is where breakthroughs live.

In our industry, this matters. Say your compliance team feels consistently undermined by marketing. If execs don’t listen to the resentment, the compliance outage may cost millions. If they do, you might uncover a design or funnel compromise before it leaks.

We teach what dialogue actually is and why it matters. True dialogue is not corporate speak; it’s grit and confidence deployed. Don’t walk into your next offsite thinking you already know. Walk in expecting you’ll be altered.

Another area we can optimise our communication in is non-verbal. Research by Albert Mehrabian and peers in the 1960s suggested 93% of our communication is actually non-verbal, leaving only 7% of the effectiveness of our communication to the actual words we’re using. This means being responsible for things like eye contact, posture and tone. Next time you’re in a conversation with someone, can you hold their gaze for an extended period of time? Most people find this extremely uncomfortable, and one of the reasons we believe it’s a superpower when it comes to being a great communicator. 

Posture is another indicator of the level of presence and engagement in any interaction. Are your arms folded across your chest, suggesting a blocked-off engagement? Are you slouched in your chair, giving lazy or disengaged vibes? What about your hand gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice? 

When’s the last time you were mindful of how these were impacting your presentation, messaging or a simple conversation? What might be available for you in these realms if you wanted to make your communication more refined and impactful?

When it comes to creating inclusive environments, ones that foster innovation, equity and creativity, are you mindful of the words and actions you choose and are you choosing them deliberately, or are you allowing whatever your default and autopilot are to solidify your plot. 

Nonverbal matters deeply. Your posture, micro-expressions and gesture salience are live data streams. In iGaming standups, I’ve watched CTOs turn their backs mid-dialogue, fold their arms, and shut off a room without a word. Result: credibility vaporises.

But don’t fetishise it. The moment you treat nonverbal as a magic trick you deploy, you become inauthentic. The real power comes from congruence: consistent word + tone + body. When all three axes align, people believe you, and you build quality and lasting relationships. When they diverge, people will distrust you.

Communication evolves trust

In fast-turn worlds like our industry, your ability to communicate transparently, quickly, and compassionately under pressure is a competitive edge. Here’s how I see it from the trenches:

Radical candour meets slow inquiry: Tell people the truth, whether bad metrics, flawed code or regulatory risks. Frame every critique with a question. “I see you shipped it early, wondering why? What pushed that trade-off?” That two-way humility shifts the tone from blame to co-creation.

Turn micro-failures into cultural artefacts: If there’s a slip, don’t sweep it under. Do a “failure autopsy” openly with the micro-team, naming what happened, why, and what we’ll change next. This not only promotes transparency, but also builds muscle memory in the organisation that failure is data.

Embed inclusion in the flow, not as an afterthought: Before any product standup, ask: “What voices aren’t here?” At decision gates, apply a “diversity lens” checklist: who benefits, who’s marginalised, what edge-case flows are missing?

Lead with embodied trust: Sometimes I show up in dev scrums, removing my executive jacket, asking to sit among them. I don’t posture; I participate. Communication is not broadcasting downward; it’s weaving upward, sideways, diagonally.

In closing

If you want to see iGaming companies that crush it, aren’t complacent, always pivoting, they aren’t spewing “inclusion slogans” or doing communication workshops once a year. They live in the tension of listening, embody congruence, and cultivate raw belonging.

You can fill your roles with diverse faces and tips and tricks, but until you master communication as transformation, inclusion stays cosmetic. From my vantage, that’s the disqualifier.

You want your app to outlaunch competitors? Fine. You want your culture to outgrow your previous version? Now you’re playing a different game.

Start now, listen twice as much, question every posture, expose your own vulnerabilities, and request inclusion in every corner of your stack. That’s how you lead iGaming not just forward, but upward.