Speech acts seem to have greater validity than mere acts of speech. While the implications of a speech act cannot be avoided, they can be in acts of speech.

The flaw in "listening acts" is that ulterior motives can still be present, so people can provide a visible "act," but the implications may not truly be known to the subject, so there would be other acts that are not seen. In other words, an "act" may be perceived as genuine, with the implications seemingly clear; however, there is deceit being seeded into this act - this is common in the works of a Machiavellian. Frankly, this is not necessarily a flaw in "listening acts" itself, but more so in the nature of the manipulator. Although, the way that language has evolved and is regulated during the time of writing this easily allows deceit to elicit more "acts".