The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my read more

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer. -Henry David Thoreau.

Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.

Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.

The wise old owl lived in an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke read more

The wise old owl lived in an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard: Why can't we all be like that bird? -Edward H. Richards.

I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I read more

I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

No man would listen to you talk if he did not know that it was his turn next.

No man would listen to you talk if he did not know that it was his turn next.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. -Wilson Mizner.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. -Wilson Mizner.

A good listener is usually thinking about something else.

A good listener is usually thinking about something else.

An essential part of true listening is the discipline of bracketing, the temporary giving up or setting aside of one's read more

An essential part of true listening is the discipline of bracketing, the temporary giving up or setting aside of one's own prejudices, frames of reference and desires so as to experience as far as possible the speaker's world from the inside, step in inside his or her shoes. This unification of speaker and listener is actually and extension and enlargement of ourselves, and new knowledge is always gained from this. Moreover, since true listening involves bracketing, a setting aside of the self, it also temporarily involves a total acceptance of the other. Sensing this acceptance, the speaker will fell less and less vulnerable and more and more inclined to open up the inner recesses of his or her mind to the listener. As this happens, speaker and listener begin to appreciate each other more and more, and the duet dance of love is begun again. -M. Scott Peck.