Dear reader,
A good friend of mine suggested that I focus on a specific subject when curating my favorite quotes. I gladly accepted his suggestion, and what follows is the result.
This blog centers on listening—as opposed to speaking—as the foundation of effective communication and successful relationships, both in our personal lives and in the business world.
So often during a conversation, we fail to truly listen to the other person because we are too busy formulating our response or preparing to defend ourselves. With that in mind, I have selected a number of quotes that highlight the importance of listening and the value of thinking before we speak.
There is also a third option we tend to overlook: remaining silent. At times, silence is the wisest answer of all. And in every case, out of simple mutual respect, we should allow the other person to finish speaking before we reply or offer an explanation. Listening—and learning from others—is always to our own advantage.
If we learn to listen (which is very different from merely hearing), we stand a far greater chance of succeeding in our daily communications and in our personal and professional growth.
I hope you enjoy these quotes and take something meaningful from them.Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. — Jimi Hendrix
He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it. — Erica Jong
In all things, be willing to listen to people around you. None of us is really smart enough to go it alone. — John Clendenin
Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery. — Dr. Joyce Brothers
The Land of Opportunity is an attitude. It is an openness to new ideas, a willingness to listen, an eagerness to learn, a desire to grow, and the flexibility to change. — BJ Gallagher
Focus on listening. Listening is a sign of respect…a demonstration that people and their ideas are important. When people know you're willing to listen, they will share their ideas as well as their frustrations. Listening enables you to build a foundation of trust that is essential to motivation. — John Baldoni
Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen for what they don't want to hear. — John Madden
If people listened to themselves more often, they would talk less. — Unknown
A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something. — Wilson Mizner
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. — Benjamin Franklin
Excellent service givers pay attention to the person and situation at hand. They listen for things the client isn't saying. — Linda Byars Swindling
From listening comes wisdom and from speaking repentance. — Unknown
Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully. — Richard Bach
When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes. — Victor Hugo
One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each other's stories. — Rebecca Falls
I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. — Publilius Syrus
When you say something, make sure that your words are not worse than your silence. — Unknown
Silence is safer than speech. — Epictetus
Stay focused on what God would want when you get offended, and you will be more likely to do the right thing. — Mike Randerson
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. — Socrates
What you don't see with your eyes, don't invent with your mouth. — Jewish Proverb
You need two years to learn to speak and sixty more years are needed to learn to be silent. — Ernest Hemingway
I don't hear very well but I try to listen to you very carefully with all my heart and soul. This is critical for ideal communication, understanding and mutual love. — E. Mendoza
Never provide unneeded explanations; your friends don't need them and your enemies will not believe them. — Oscar Wilde
The sign of an intelligent people is their ability to control their emotions by the application of reason. — Marya Mannes
The ignorant one affirms, the wise questions and doubts and meditates/reflects. — Aristotle
When you talk, make sure that your words are better than your silence and remember that you are master of your silence and slave to your words. — Unknown
You should maintain your mouth closed when you are swimming and when you are angry and upset. — Unknown
I rather annoy you with the truth, than to please you with adulation and flattery. — Unknown
Nature has given men one tongue and two ears, that we may hear twice as much as we speak. — Epictetus
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. — Hans Hofmann
Every person I work with knows something better than me. My job is to listen long enough to find it and use it. — Jack Nichols
If you raise your voice volume, your arguments descend; the one who learns to tolerate is more intelligent than the one who shouts. — Unknown
The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart. — St. Jerome
The best relationships—friendship and otherwise—tend to be those where you "can" say anything to the other person but you don't say "everything." — Audrey Beth Stein
The best way to become boring is to say everything. — Voltaire
One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears. — Dean Rusk
Welcome ideas that are not your own. Be open to what others have to say without getting defensive. Make it okay for others to share their ideas — even if those ideas conflict with yours. — John Baldoni
Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. — James 3:5 (NIV Bible)
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. — James 3:6 (NIV Bible)
Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be. — Unknown
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. — Plato
In conclusion, on many occasions we don't process or analyze what we say, and we speak everything we think without considering the implications of those words. I would rather remain silent, learn from others, and then react when appropriate.
