He holds him with his glittering eye--
. . . .
And listens like a three years' read more

He holds him with his glittering eye--
. . . .
And listens like a three years' child.

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.

Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when you'd have preferred to talk. -D.J. Kaufman.

Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when you'd have preferred to talk. -D.J. Kaufman.

A good listener is usually thinking about something else.

A good listener is usually thinking about something else.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.

Listen. Don't explain or justify.

Listen. Don't explain or justify.

The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue.

The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue.

Listen, every one
That listen may, unto a tale
That's merrier than the nightingale.
read more

Listen, every one
That listen may, unto a tale
That's merrier than the nightingale.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn (pt. III,),

If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he read more

If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear. -A. A. Milne.