Quotes About Dialogue

Her conversation, I soon found, was couched in the telegraphic style.

Readers are made by readers.

It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Acquaintance with grief turns out to be one of the more unusual prerequisites of architectural appreciation. We might, quite aside from all other requirements, need to be a little sad before buildings can properly touch us.

I came to the conclusion that, even in life, unless I'm responding with my whole self—unless, in fact, I'm willing to be changed by you—I'm probably not really listening. But if I do listen—openly, naïvely, and innocently—there's a chance, possibly the only chance, that a true dialogue and real communication will take place between us.

The trouble with a lecture is that it answers questions that haven't been asked.

Not being truly engaged with the people we're trying to communicate with, and then suffering the snags of misunderstanding, is the grit in the gears of daily life.

The person who's communicating something is responsible for how well the other person follows him.

Real conversation can't happen if listening is just my waiting for you to finish talking.

Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. When I'm willing to let them change me, something happens between us that's more interesting than monologues. Like so much of what I learned in the theater, this turned out how life works, too.

The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed. Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking about listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. When I'm willing to let them change me, something happens between us that's more interesting than a pair of dueling monologues.

Unless, as leaders, we are willing to enter this in-between space that disrupts our settled assumptions and threatens our formulas and expectations, we will remain locked into a monologue of church questions and strategies.

Keep your notebooks stocked with dreams, ideas for characters, odd thoughts (someday you may invent odd characters to think them), overheard dialogue, observations, and memories. Write "nibble notes" (consisting of key words, idea kernels) during the day, instead of counting on a nighttime writing repast that might not happen (too tired, too much

Only trying to make conversation, friend.' 'Don't bother - it's an overrated activity at the best of times.

I've had meetings with Fidel Castro. I've had meetings with Kim Il-Sung. I've had meetings with other dictators. I've met with the Butcher of Beijing. You know, I think it's important to hear, you know, each other's perspective.

It is always the case that when something emerges - which, of course, from the perspective of the former West Germany looks very different - then people say, 'She hasn't told us this yet' and 'She hasn't told us that yet.' I don't know - maybe there are other things I didn't talk about because no one ever asked me.

If anything, I hope to see more players feel comfortable speaking out and sharing their perspectives openly in the future. The game needs more of that in my opinion.

We must first listen, then speak - with humility - to genuinely hear the perspectives of those with whom we don't immediately or instinctively agree.

The health of democratic nations themselves depends on listening to and considering other perspectives.

Good argument is intended to persuade another.

I think people don't want to be persuaded. And people don't even like to do the persuading.

My pet peeve is when people criticize things when they're just trying to have a conversation.

Much of America is petrified to bring up race, especially in public forums - the media, in particular.

Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.

As I say, there was this movement to try to bring philosophers and mathematicians together into an organization where they would talk to each other. An organization wasn't effective unless you had a journal. That's about all I know.