Listening Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old listening quotes, listening sayings, and listening proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people. Woodrow Wilson
Many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request. Phillip Stanhope
Silence is a source of great strength. Lao Tzu
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Ralph Nichols
It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear. Dick Cavett
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk. Doug Larson
One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Bryant H. McGill
If you make listening and observation your occupation, you will gain much more than you can by talk. Robert Baden-Powell
Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking. Bernard Baruch
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. Peter Drucker
The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'. Alfred Brendel
Listening is not merely not talking, though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us. Alice Deur Miller
When you listen, it's amazing what you can learn. When you act on what you've learned, it's amazing what you can change. Audrey Mclaughlin
People start to heal the moment they feel heard. Cheryl Richardson
Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble. Frank Tyger
Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable. David Augsburger
When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something. Jared Sparks
To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well. John Marshall
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Karl Menninger
You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time. M. Scott Peck
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. Robert Mccloskey
To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation Chinese Proverbs
Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again. Andre Gide
A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with. Kenneth A. Wells
Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand. Sue Patton Thoele
A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something. Wilson Mizner
A person hears only what they understand. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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
Give every man your ear, but few thy voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. William Shakespeare
God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we can hear twice as much as we say. unknown