Quotes About Listening

In the act of writing the poem, I am obedient, and submissive. Insofar as one can, I put aside ego and vanity, and even intention. I listen. What I hear is almost a voice, almost a language. It is a second ocean, rising, singing into one's ear, or deep inside the ears, whispering in the recesses where one is less oneself than a part of some single indivisible community.

If you can hear the trees in their easy hours of course you can also hear them later, crying out at the sawmill.

Your clocks, he says plainly, which are always ticking, do not have to be listened to. The spirit of his every word.

One IGHS member said that, yup, she could hear it, too. Then again, during a dinner conversation earlier in the trip, this same woman heard "Siegfried and Roy" as "Sigmund Freud." The resulting image-Sigmund Freud with flowing hair and tigers and too much men's makeup-haunts me to this day.

It was nearing 9 O'clock, and the fist duck was drawing down. Behind the trees, the first star pricked out, low and brilliant. The light breeze of the day had dropped, and the evening was very still. The stream sounded loud. I walked down to the gate and stood leaning on the top bar, enjoying the scent of the roses, and straining to listen for any sound from the lane or the road beyond.

the god does not speak to those who have no time to listen.

I lay wakeful, watching the empty dark, listening to the little wind which had sprung up throwing handfuls of rain against the walls of the tent

I had been so used to God's voice in the fire and stars that I had forgotten to listen for it in the counsels of men.

silence is the most intolerable of answers.

Intuition comes when you're truly listening at a level that is not just with words, but instead with a connection and true understanding of

you begin a statement by saying, "I'm curious, (fill in with your question)", then the person will be more likely to openly share.

The Listener's Body Language A person's body language often says more than words. After all, why wouldn't you want know if a person is uncomfortable talking about butterflies and roses because they remind her of an ex; or talking about sports when the guy next to you hardly knows the difference between the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears?

It will help you understand if your listener is enjoying your conversation or if you've made him uncomfortable. These

Open-ended questions are best because they generate longer responses and give conversational threads to grasp onto. For instance, if you ask, "What was the best part of your day?" the

Open-ended questions are better for conversations than "yes" or "no" questions. They

and it doesn't have to be verbally, although it can be). Most

Generally speaking, the person initiating the conversation can expect to do 90% of the talking for the first two minutes. After that, the conversation (if you've reached the hook point) will be much closer to 50/50 talking.

Always remember that communication involves listening, understanding, and observing–not just speaking.

Non-verbal listening, in which the listener displays what they're thinking based on their expressions and gestures, is important for feedback and can give you information on which direction to take the story. If the

Probing Probing is the art of asking the right question at the right time. Throughout the story, you can ask your audience some questions. After relating or telling your story, you can ask your audience about their perceptions and opinions to learn if anything needs to be changed for the next time you tell the story. Do

When a storyteller can relate a story to the audience, it causes listeners' ears to perk up. The

Nod to show that you are listening and understand

sitting, lean forward because it will show that you're listening

Rather than building your self-esteem on being right, you might reform your picture of yourself into that of one who, above all, wants to find the truth. Listening