Listening Quotes Quick quotes about listening "Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much. " Robert Greenleaf "Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals." J. Isham "The opposite of talking is not listening. The opposite of talking is waiting." Fran Lebowitz "Accustomed to the veneer of noise, to the shibboleths of promotion, public relations, and market research, society is suspicious of those who value silence." John Lahr Every person in this life has something to teach me — and as soon as I accept that, I open myself to truly listening. Catherine Doucette "It is the province of knowledge to speak And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen." Oliver Wendell Holmes "The first duty of love is to listen." Paul Tillich The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer." Henry David Thoreau "You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time." M. Scott Peck "A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something. " Wilson Mizner "Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery." Dr Joyce Brothers "If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." A. A. Milne "Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when you'd have preferred to talk." D.J. Kaufman "The best time to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or bust." Josh Billings "It takes two to speak the truth — one to speak and another to hear." Thoreau "I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention." Diane Sawyer, ABC Television Anchor "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Stephen R. Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People "Instead of listening to what is being said to them, many managers are already listening to what they are going to say." Anonymous "To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard. It's a sign of respect. It makes people feel valued." Deborah Tannen, Author / Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University. "The best salespeople are great listeners—that's how you find out what the buyer wants." Larry Wilson and Spencer Johnson, Organizational Consultants “I would say that listening to the other person's emotions may be the most important thing I've learned in twenty years of business." Heath Herber, Herber Company “Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured." John P. Kotter, Professor, Harvard Business School "Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world." Cuban Proverb "Man's inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively." Carl Rogers, Psychologist "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister "Big egos have little ears." Robert Schuller, Minister, Author and Speaker "A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something." Wilson Mizner Who speaks, sows; Who listens, reaps. Argentine Proverb "You learn when you listen. You earn when you listen—not just money, but respect." Harvey Mackay, CEO, Mackay Envelope Company, and Author | 
