Listening Skills Quotes

“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.”
― Zeno of Citium, as quoted by Diogenes Laërtius

“The single most important key to success is to be a good listener.”
― Kelly Wearstler

“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand.
We listen to reply.”
― Stephen R. Covey

“I never learn anything from listening to myself.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, Flight Behavior

“Deep listening is an act of surrender. We risk being changed by what we hear. When I really want to hear another person's story, I try to leave my preconceptions at the door and draw close to their telling. I am always partially listening to the thoughts in my own head when others are speaking, so I consciously quiet my thoughts and begin to listen with my senses. Empathy is cognitive and emotional—to inhabit another person's view of the world is to feel the world with them. But I also know that it's okay if I don't feel very much for them at all. I just need to feel safe enough to stay curious. The most critical part of listening is asking what is at stake for the other person. I try to understand what matters to them, not what I think matters. Sometimes I start to lose myself in their story. As soon as I notice feeling unmoored, I try to pull myself back into my body, like returning home. As Hannah Arendt says, 'One trains one's imagination to go visiting.' When the story is done, we must return to our skin, our own worldview, and notice how we have been changed by our visit. So I ask myself, What is this story demanding of me? What will I do now that I know this?”
― Valarie Kaur, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

“Dr. Bone Specialist came in, made me stand up and hobble across the room, checked my reflexes, and then made me lie down on the table. He bent my right knee this way and that, up and down, all the way out to the side and in. Then he did the same with my left leg. He ordered X rays then started to leave the room. I panicked. I MUST GET DRUGS.

"What can I take for the pain?" I asked him before he got out the door.

"You can take some over the counter ibuprofen," he suggested. "But I wouldn't take more than nine a day."

I choked. Nine a day? I'd been popping forty. Nine a day? Like hell. I couldn't even go to the bathroom on my own, I hadn't slept in three weeks, and my normally sunny cheery disposition had turned into that of a very rabid dog. If I didn't get good drugs and get them now, it was straight to Shooter's World and then Walgreens pharmacy for me.

"I don't think you understand," I explained. "I can't go to work. I have spent the last four days with my mother who is addicted to QVC, watching jewelry shows, doll shows and make-up shows. I almost ordered a beef-jerky maker! Give me something, or I'm going to use your calf muscles to make the first batch!"

Without further ado, he hastily scribbled out a prescription for some codeine and was gone. I was happy.

My mother, however, had lost the ability to speak.”
― Laurie Notaro, The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life

“During a conversation, listening is as powerful as loving.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“There is a difference between truly listening and waiting for your turn to talk.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“That trust takes time. But when you love each other, it shouldn't be scary to be vulnerable and it shouldn't be hard to compromise.

I'd like to share with you what we like to call SACRED HEALING. We use it every day of our marriage, and it hasn't failed us yet!

When you have something you need to communicate, those words are SACRED:

1. STOP when you register something's wrong.
2. ADMIT that you have an issue to discuss.
3. CALMLY express your feelings.
4. REFLECT on why you're feeling this way.
5. ENGAGE with your partner to actively fix the issue.
6. DEVOTE time after conflict to returning to a loving state.

And when your partner is saying something SACRED, it's your job to get the leader of the HEALING:

1. HEAR your partner's words.
2. ENGAGE with your questions for clarification and understanding.
3. ACKNOWLEDGE that what they're saying is important.
4. LOOK BACK on your own role in the conflict.
5. INITIATE discussion without anger or defense.
6. NEGOTIATE a solution with pure intentions.
7. GROW as partners and individuals by fixing the problem as a team.”
― Christina Lauren, The Honey-Don't List

“When it comes to communication, salespeople are a fascinating bunch to watch because most are under the misguided impression they are being paid to speak. If they truly believed they were being paid to listen, they would all make more money.”
― Rob Ryan Sullivan, A Trek Within: Embracing Unexpected Truths

“There are innumerable voices in the silence, and the voices are constantly talking to one another. Our job is to learn how to listen.”
― Bhuwan Thapaliya

“Maturity is not just the ability to do critical thinking but also the ability to listen to others, who might have also done their critical thinking or maybe never did”
― Daniel I. OWOEYE

“Take some time to talk to yourself and you will get all your answers, provided you know your questions.”
― Sukant Ratnakar, Quantraz

“A “smirt” guy once said, if you don't read books you have no advantage over those who can't read. Well, I can't even spell “smirt”, and I say, read all you like - if you don't have the basic capacity to listen, you have no advantage over the animal.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Mucize Misafir Merhaba: The Peace Testament

“The best use of language is the one that helps you surpass language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“Most of the problems in this world can be lowered down if we just understand that 'Communication' is only 15% speaking and 85% is listening calmly and trying to understand what the other has to say.”
― Rohit Sharma (@rohit_sha)

“Talk less. Sell more.”
― Rob Liano

“The best use of language is to surpass the language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”
― Stephen R. Covey

“Something that has gotten me far, is the way that I listen more than I talk in important moments. And when I do speak, best believe it is of substantial quality. Practice this.”
― Robin S. Baker

“[...] Poți parcurge o viață întreagă și să nu înțelegi mai nimic despre cum funcționează oamenii și emoțiile.

<< [...] Avem nevoie să înțelegem emoțiile, fiindcă neînțelegându-le, ne facem rău și nouă și îi rănim și pe alții. Uită-te în jurul tău și vei înțelege ușor ceea ce Austin Kleon a zis mai bine decât eu aș putea spune vreodată: "Atunci când oamenii dau sfaturi de fapt ceea ce fac e să-și vorbească lor, cei din trecut."

[...] Dacă ar fi să rezum și să simplific lucruri care, în esență, sunt nesimplificabile, aș spune că atunci când oamenii se deschid în fața noastră și încearcă să creeze o conexiune cu noi, să îi ascultăm contează mai mult decât a încerca să îi ajutăm.

De fapt, pentru mulți dintre noi, a ne înfrâna reflexul de a încerca să îi ajutăm prin cuvinte poate să le facă mult mai bine decât am putea crede vreodată.

Dacă am învățat ceva în miile de ore de lucrat cu oamenii, am învățat că suntem, ca specie, mult mai plini de resurse decât credem. Avem o capacitate incredibilă de a ne vindeca, de a ne rezolva problemele și de a gestiona perioadele grele.

Iar atunci când nu suntem antrenați în a-i ajuta pe alții (sau chiar atunci când suntem), cel mai bun lucru pe care îl putem face pentru ei este să le dăm spațiu să vorbească, să îi ascultăm fără să îi facem să se simtă judecați, etichetați, fără să îi întrerupem cu părerile noastre despre viețile lor.

Și, cel mult, să le comunicăm că i-am ascultat.”
― Andrei Rosca, Acum, aici, contezi

“If you haven't developed an ear to listen past the unspoken, you haven't developed hearing.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Debate as if you’re right but listen in case you’re wrong.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, BECOME: Unleash the Power of Moral Character and Be Proud of the Life You Choose

“All of us are busy but how about doing nothing for a while and listening to everything that has been longing to speak to us?”
― Bhuwan Thapaliya

“Listen more and speak less.”
― Brian Reese

“Listen if you want to be heard.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, BECOME: Unleash the Power of Moral Character and Be Proud of the Life You Choose

“Those who master listening often find the doors to success open quietly.”
― Ayoub Imilouane, Tales of Habib the Hoaxter: Sometimes Hoaxed, Always Good for a Laugh

“Listen with your mouth closed.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, Values to Live By: Know What Matters Most and Let It Be Your Guide

“Listening is to communication as a compass is to a ship: if you don't know where your interlocutor's North needle is pointing, you risk going off course and, perhaps, encountering a storm.”
― Luigina Sgarro

“Answering a question twice feels like 2-factor authentication. You heard what I said the first time.”
― Niedria D. Kenny, SOLAR RAIN