To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.
This proverb isn’t about a particular character, but about an action – a dumb action! Anyone who would “answer before listening” either thinks they, themselves, are really smart or they just don’t care much at all about the person to whom they are listening.
The one who will “answer before listening” is actually more interested in hearing him or herself talk than anything else. In fact, they probably care more about themselves than the other person – maybe more than any other person!
This verse makes it clear that such action is both “folly and shame.” “Folly” doesn’t suggest mental deficiency – but moral deficiency. This is a character problem, not an intellectual one.
Consequently, such thinking and actions are “shameful” or “disgraceful.” Probably the best that could be said about this person is that they’re more interested in solving a problem than they are in the person with the problem.
Wish I could say I never did that!