Listening – Part II
Last week I wrote about the importance and power of listening for all leaders. I was surprised and gratified by the many affirming responses I received during the past seven days, including from 28-year-old son. When you receive positive feedback from your own children, you know you are doing something right!
Consequently, I want to encourage you to think more about your own listening – to your significant other, your friends, your family members and your work colleagues.
How are you showing up in conversations, on Zoom and in person?
I hope these quotes about listening will resonate with you and will motivate you to continue to improve your own listening skills:
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give to each other is our attention…a loving silence often has more power to heal than connect than the most well-intentioned words.” – Rachel Naomi Remen
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
“Deep listening is slowing down to the speed of love. It is the greatest gift you can give.” – Anonymous
“People love to talk but hate to listen. 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 to us. You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer.” – Alice Miller
“You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.” – M. Scott Peck
“When we listen to people, our language softens. Listening may be the cardinal act of giving…I think it is the source of peace.” – Paul Hawken
“The first duty of love is to listen.” – Paul Tillich
“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
“To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only for the ‘music,’ but to the essence of the person speaking. You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he or she is.” – Peter Senge
“The beginning of wisdom is silence. The second stage is listening.” – King Solomon
“Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are indistinguishable.” – David Augberger
“We serve them when we listen beneath their story, stand close to both the pain and hope, allowing time for telling, and allowing them to make sense of the experience through our responsive witnessing. Deep listening is empathy in action.” – Anonymous
“Deep listening occurs when your mind is quiet. Your thoughts are flowing rather than crowding your mind with distractions, interpretations, judgments, conclusions or assumptions. Your mind is open, curious, interested – as though you were hearing this person for the first time…The goal of deep listening is to hear beyond the words of the other person and yourself, to the essence of what the words and feelings are pointing to. Your heart and mind are joined in union – you are listening wholeheartedly.” – Richard Carlson & Joseph Bailey