All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
I’ve never learned anything while I was talking.
—Larry King (b.1933) American TV Personality, Radio Personality, Journalist
To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also.
—Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Russian-born American Composer, Musician
Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.
—Carl Rogers (1902–1987) American Psychologist
I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.
—Larry King (b.1933) American TV Personality, Radio Personality, Journalist
No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you’ll see why.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
It takes a great man to make a good listener.
—Arthur Helps (1813–75) English Dramatist, Essayist
To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.
—John Marshall (1755–1835) American Judge, Lawyer
Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
—Robert Fulghum (b.1937) American Unitarian Universalist Author, Essayist, Clergyman
Listen to everything, forget much, correct little.
—Pope John XXIII (1881–1963) Italian Catholic Religious Leader, Pope
The secret of a good memory is attention, and attention to a subject depends upon our interest in it. We rarely forget that which has made a deep impression on our minds.
—Tryon Edwards American Theologian
The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.
—James Cash Penney (1875–1971) American Entrepreneur
Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest desires of the human heart.
—Richard Carlson (1912–77) American Actor, TV Personality, Film Director, Screenwriter
When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two-thirds about him and what he is going to say.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Listening is more important than talking. Just hit your mark and believe what you say. Just listen to people and react to what they are saying.
—Jimmy Fallon (b.1974) American Comedian, TV Personality, Actor, Musician
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
—James Baldwin (1924–87) American Novelist, Social Critic
Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.
—Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857–1941) English Soldier, Founder of the Boy Scouts
People should talk less and draw more. Personally, I would like to renounce speech altogether and, like organic nature, communicate everything I have to say visually.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
A good listener is not someone with nothing to say. A good listener is a good talker with a sore throat.
—Katharine Whitehorn (b.1928) English Journalist, Writer, Columnist
Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him.
—Simone Weil (1909–1943) French Philosopher, Political Activist
Are you really listening… or are you just waiting for your turn to talk?
—Robert Montgomery (1904–81) American Film, Television Actor, Director, Producer
You seldom listen to me, and when you do you don’t hear, and when you do hear you hear wrong, and even when you hear right you change it so fast that it’s never the same.
—Marjorie Kellogg (1922–2005) American Journalist, Novel, Playwright
The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.
—Thich Nhat Hanh (b.1926) Vietnamese Buddhist Religious Leader, Teacher, Author, Peace Activist
When I have been listened to and when I have been heard, I am able to re-perceive my world in a new way and to go on. It is astonishing how elements that seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens, how confusions that seem irremediable turn into relatively clear flowing streams when one is heard. I have deeply appreciated the times that I have experienced this sensitive, empathic, concentrated listening.
—Carl Rogers (1902–1987) American Psychologist
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. We are constantly being re-created.
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985) American Journalist, Editor, Writer, Teacher
Listen to the mustn’ts, child.
Listen to the don’ts.
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me…
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.
—Shel Silverstein (1930–99) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Short story Author, Playwright, Author, Songwriter
If you spend more time asking appropriate questions rather than giving answers or opinions, your listening skills will increase.
—Brian Koslow