Quotes About Listening

Discovering an inner history requires listening – and often not to the first story told.

You are interested in hearing about how another person approaches things—his or her opinions and associations.

In solitude we find ourselves; we prepare ourselves to come to conversation with something to say that is authentic, ours. When we are secure in ourselves we are able to listen to other people and really hear what they have to say. And then in conversation with other people we become better at inner dialogue.

For one woman, a college sophomore, "It's very special when someone turns away from a text to turn to a person." For a senior man, "If someone gets a text and apologizes and silences it [their phone], that sends a signal that they are there, they are listening to you.

When we don't want to know the truth, we don't hear the truth spoken to us.

You see it is likely that, when my brother told the story, that night when we got home and my mother and sister sat listening, I did not think he got the point. He was too young and so was I. A thing so complete has its own beauty.

the important thing to learn is to know what people think, not what they say

During my career, I would encounter numerous situations in which parties found themselves full of mistrust and anger, where it seemed that all doors had been closed. Ben-Gurion had shown me that listening is not just a key element of good leadership, it is the key, the means to unlock doors that have been slammed shut by bitter dispute and resignation.

each had so much to say that neither was willing to expend the effort, and so said nothing.

Or maybe, as is usually the case with spans of distance and time, each had so much to say that neither was willing to expend the effort, and so said nothing.

A narrow mind and a big mouth usually lead to pointless arguments.

The job of the parent is not to impose his or her will on the child, but to get the child to listen to his or her own inner voice. Inspiration, not just prescription.

I just want you to listen to what I have to say, for not every doctor likes to listen to his patients.

Speak less, listen deeply.

True communication depends upon our being straightforward with one another... But the best way to communicate may be just to sit without saying anything.

Try not to force your idea on someone, but rather think about it with him. If you feel you have won the discussion, that is the wrong attitude. Try not to win the argument; just listen to it.

Usually when you listen to some statement, you hear it as a kind of echo of yourself. You are actually listening to your own opinion. If it agrees with your opinion you may accept it, but if it does not, you will reject it or you may not even really hear it.

Try not to force your idea on someone, but rather think about it with him. If you feel you have won the discussion, that also is the wrong attitude. Try not to win in the argument; just listen to it

Stay from underfoot and don't get into any trouble. You hear me?" "Yes, ma'am, I hear you." Due to past experience, she may not have completely believed me. When

Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.

The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing.

I think it's largely true, what I once heard a famous playwright say, that there are no truly stupid human beings, no uninteresting human lives, and that you'd discover this if you were willing to sit and listen to people.

only when one comes to listen, only when one is aware and still, can things be seen and heard.

If you want to understand democracy, spend less time in the library with Plato, and more time in the buses with people.