CURATED COLLECTION

The Art of Truly Listening

Most people listen to respond — real listening is the rarer thing, the kind that changes both people.

50 quotes found

“
Listening is a form of translation. You have to translate emotions.

—Valeria LuiselliAuthor & Essayist

Digital Age ERA • Latin America

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When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

—Ernest HemingwayNovelist & Journalist

Post-War ERA • North America

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Only when one has suffered, can one truly understand the suffering of others.

—Ba JinNovelist & Thinker

Early Modern ERA • East Asia

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Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

—Simone WeilPhilosopher, Mystic & Activist

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

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Poetry is the bridge between two people or two moments.

—Octavio PazPoet, Diplomat & Essayist

Post-War ERA • Latin America

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Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character.

—Erich FrommPhilosopher

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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The only warmth in this world comes from the warmth of human contact.

—Maria DąbrowskaNovelist

Post-War ERA • Eastern Europe

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Kind words spoken, free from malice, are more precious than alms.

—TiruvalluvarPoet, Philosopher & Author

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

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Every person you meet has a story. Listen, truly listen, to them.

—Yasmin AhmadAuthor & Thinker

Contemporary ERA • Southeast Asia

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Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

—ConfuciusPhilosopher

Ancient World ERA • East Asia

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The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention.

—Thich Nhat HanhActivist

Post-War ERA • Southeast Asia

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Love is a dangerous thing, a fragile thing, but it is all we have.

—Bienvenido SantosNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • Southeast Asia

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It's often the most lonely people who are the most kind. They know what it feels like.

—Marilyn MonroeActress

Post-War ERA • North America

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If you are a leader, be patient when you listen to the pleas of a supplicant.

—PtahhotepPharaoh

Pre-Ancient ERA • North Africa

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We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and since we are fallen, we must love him in spite of himself.

—C.S. LewisWriter & Theologian

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

—Harper LeeNovelist

Post-War ERA • North America

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Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.

—Jalal ad-Din RumiPoet & Scholar

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

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The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts.

—George EliotScholar & Thinker

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

—Ernest HemingwayNovelist & Journalist

Early Modern ERA • North America

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People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.

—Harper LeeNovelist

Post-War ERA • North America

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