Quotations: Communication & Listening

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Quotations Communication & Listening


Quotations Communication: They are from many sources on the nature and function of communication and speech and how to improve them.


“When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something.” —Jared Sparks


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Quotations Communication: They are from many sources on the nature and function of communication and speech and how to improve them.

Quotations Communication: Various Sources

Listed Alphabetically

“A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes your lips will not return.” —Jewish proverb

“A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.” —Frank Crane

“A friend to all is a friend to none.” —Aristotle

“A hut full of laughter is richer than a palace full of sadness.” —Buddhist saying

“A man who takes pleasure in speaking continuously fools himself in thinking he is not unpleasant to those around him.” —Sophocles

“A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.” —Gandhi

“A smart person knows how to win an argument. A wise person knows how to avoid one.” —Anonymous

“A truly holy person speaks little, but when necessary uses words which are sweet.” —Dhammapada: The Holy Person, verse 363

“A wise man does not chatter with one whose mind is sick.” —Sophocles, The Women of Trachis

“Always when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought.” —Isocrates, letter to Demonicus

“Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken.” —Orson Card

“And be silent for the most part, or else make only the most necessary remarks, and express these in few words. But rarely, and when occasion requires you to talk, talk, indeed, but about no ordinary topics. Do not talk about gladiators, or horseraces, or athletes, or things to eat or drink–topics that arise on all occasions; but above all, do not talk about people, either blaming, or praising, or comparing them.” —Epictetus, Enchiridion

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” —James 3:6

“As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.” ―François de La Rochefoucauld

“Be a friend to thyself, and others will be so too.” —Thomas Fuller

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” —D. H. Lawrence

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” —Dr. Seuss

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;” —I Peter 1:15

“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” —Matthew 5:39

“Consider before acting, to avoid foolishness: It is the worthless man who speaks and acts thoughtlessly.” —Pythagoras

“Constant talk does not mean wisdom. On the other hand, the signs of patience, love, and freedom will direct you to the wise person.” —Dhammapada: A Proper Life, verse 258

“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.” —Spanish proverb

“Don’t talk unless you can improve the silence.” —Jorge Luis Borges

“Don’t worry that you kinds don’t always listen to you. Worry that they’re always watching you.” —Robert Fulghum

“Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.” —Psalms 28:3

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” —Proverbs 17:28

“Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.” —Samuel Beckett

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” —Carl Jung

“Falling in love is easy, staying in love is work.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.” —Epictetus

“Foolishness always results when the tongue outraces the brain.” —Unknown

“For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” —1 Peter 3:10–11

“Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature, and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth.” —Liu Xiaobo, Noble Peace Prize laureate

“Freedom lies in being bold.” —Robert Frost

“Friendships are based on reciprocity, so when you lose a friend, ask yourself if you were still giving them something worthwhile in exchange for what you were receiving.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Give people the right to be wrong. They will exercise this right whether you give it to them or not.” —Windy Dryden

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

“He who talks more is sooner exhausted.” —Lao Tzu

“I don’t know or want to assume it is so; however, I would not be surprised if it turns out to be so.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue.” —Xenocrates, fragment

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” —James 1:26

“If they will not learn from it, why do you insist on telling them? Are you doing that for your own pride in knowing better?” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“If you cannot say what you have to say in twenty minutes, you should go away and write a book about it.” —Lord Brabazon

“If you want to have an opinion, then honesty demands that you examine the topic’s five basic positions (5TP). Else, you should say, ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I have no opinion.’” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“It is better to ask some of the questions than know all the answers.” —James Thurber

“Imagine that all of your comments about others will come before God because they will in the end.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens.” —Jimi Hendrix

“Let there be but two occasions for speech–when the subject is one which you thoroughly know and when it is one on which you are compelled to speak. On these occasions alone is speech better than silence; on all others, it is better to be silent than to speak.” —Isocrates, letter to Demonicus

“Making your point provisionally makes it more agreeable because it arouses fewer ego defenses.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Misery is the end of those with unbridled mouths.” —Euripides, Bacchants

“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness.” —Margaret Millar

“Nature has given us one tongue and two ears so that we would listen twice as much as we speak.” —Zeno of Elea

“Never tell when you can ask.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Nothing is more articulate than silence.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Now I see that going out into the testing ground of men, it is the tongue and not the deed that wins the day.” —Sophocles, Philoctetes

“Of all possessions, a friend is the most precious.” —Herodotus

“Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.” —Janet Lane

“One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” ―Nelson Mandela

“Oysters open completely when the moon is full, and when the crab sees one, it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it, and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener.” —Leonardo da Vinci

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” —President Teddy Roosevelt

“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” —Proverbs 16:24

“Quarrels never could last long, if on one side only lay the wrong.” —Benjamin Franklin

“Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side.” ―François de La Rochefoucauld

“Question for information, to redirect the burden of proof, and to lead to a new conclusion.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Question until there are no more questions.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“Silence is a source of great strength.” —Lao Tzu

“Silence is an answer in the eyes of the wise.” —Euripides

“Silence, healing” —Heraclitus

“Sir, when two people have the extraordinary quality of this state, words are not necessary. Where that quality of love exists, words become unnecessary. There is instant communication.” —J. Krishnamurti, Can Humanity Change? p. 79

“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” —James 2:12

“Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time.” —Ecclesiasticus 20:6

“Speak gently to everyone, and they will respond accordingly. Harsh words hurt, and you will get them thrown back in your face.” —Dhammapada: Retribution, verse 133

“Speak not nor act before thou hast reflected.” —Pythagoras

“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.” ―Mahatma Gandhi

“Speech which argues falls short of its aim.” —Chung Tzu

“Tell me with whom you associate, and I will tell you who you are.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“That is, sir, there can only be communication, communion, when you and I are on the same level, and with the same intensity, at the same time.” —J. Krishnamurti, Can Humanity Change? p. 78

“The ability to speak eloquently is not to be confused with having something to say.” —Michael P. Hart

“The argument against free speech is the argument that power must rule, not reason.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” —Abraham Lincoln

“The first duty of love is to listen.” —Paul Tillich, 1886-1965

“The great rivers flow quietly; a wise man doesn’t raise his voice.” —Chinese proverb

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” —Epictetus

“The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say—because they were too obvious.” —Andre Gide

“The most precious things in speech are pauses.” —Ralph Richardson

“The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.” —Khalil Gibran

“The only thing worse than being alone is being with people.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” —George Bernard Shaw

“There are very few people who don’t become more interesting when they stop talking.” —Mary Lowry

“There is a lot to be said for the person who doesn’t say it himself.” —Maurice Switzer

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” —Carl W. Buechner (not Maya Angelou)

“To be truthful is to say what you feel and think, but that does not mean that what you say is true.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.” —Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.” —Hermann Hesse

“Two monologues do not make a dialogue.” —Jeff Daly

“Unfortunately, many regard the critic as an enemy, instead of seeing him as a guide to the truth.” —Wilhelm Steinitz

“What we cannot speak of, we must pass over in silence.” —Ludwig Wittgenstein

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson (paraphrased)

“Whatever advice you give, be brief.” —Horace

“When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something.” —Jared Sparks

“Whoever knows he is deep strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” —Epictetus

“We need silence to be able to touch souls.” —Mother Teresa

“When a woman snarls and uses an ugly tone to make someone look ugly—it works.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

“When given a choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.” —Wayne Dyer

“When not prompted by vanity, we say little.” ―François de La Rochefoucauld

“Where two discourse, if the one’s anger rise, the man who lets the contest fall is wise.” —Euripides

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” —James 1:19

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” —Doug Larson

“Wise men don’t judge–they seek to understand.” —Wei Wu Wei

“Wise men don’t need to prove their point. Men who need to prove their point are not wise.” —Lao Tzu

“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.” — Plato

“You can be right or righteous.” —Anonymous

“You can be right, or you can be happy.” —Anonymous

“You can stroke people with words.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald

“You need to know when to speak your mind and what the penalty will be for doing so. Sometimes it’s worth it, and often it’s not!” —Albert Ellis


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Games Ego Plays

Quotations Communication: Communicate with Safety

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Communicate with I messages


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Games Ego Plays

Quotations Communication: Explanation for the Existence of Manners & Politeness

“A number of porcupines huddled together for warmth on a cold day in winter; but, as they began to prick one another with their quills, they were obliged to disperse. However, the cold drove them together again, when just the same thing happened. At last, after many turns of huddling and dispersing, they discovered that they would be best off by remaining at a little distance from one another. In the same way, the need of society drives the human porcupines together, only to be mutually repelled by the many prickly and disagreeable qualities of their nature. The moderate distance which they, at last, discover to be the only tolerable condition of intercourse is the code of politeness and fine manners, and those who transgress it are roughly told—in the English phrase—to keep their distance. By this arrangement, the mutual need of warmth is only very moderately satisfied, but then people do not get pricked. A man who has some heat in himself prefers to remain outside, where he will neither prick other people nor get pricked himself.” ―Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena


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Games Ego Plays

3D: Daily Dose of Discernment: 2020 & 22

Communication Is Assumed: 08-10-2022

  1. “What you think a person is saying cannot be what they are saying because they have different thoughts than you.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice
  2. “What you think a person is saying cannot be what they are saying because they have different intentions than you.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice
  3. “What you think a person is saying cannot be what they are saying because they have different meanings for words than you.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice
  4. “What you think a person is saying cannot be what they are saying because they have different experiences for words than you.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice
  5. “What you think a person is saying cannot be what they are saying because they have different semantic reactions and responses to words than you.” —Kevin Everett FitzMaurice

#Narrate #Conversation: 2020-02-09

  1. Narrate the conversation to help all concerned gain awareness, overview, and perspective.
  2. When you point out patterns and processes in a conversation, you give yourself and others the advantages of insight, perception, and understanding.
  3. Narrating a conversation can be as simple as pointing out the changes, movements, and shifts in attitudes, focus, intentions, tactics, and topics.
  4. Narrating a conversation is taking a bird’s-eye, meta, objective, or outside view of the interactions and speaking to the style rather than to the content of the conversation.
  5. Narrating a conversation is a skill that you can learn and practice to improve your communication, connection, and negotiation skills.

#Silence #Stillness: 2020-09-06

  1. Without silence, stillness, and waiting, there is no hosting God.
  2. Without silence, stillness, and waiting, there is no hosting creativity.
  3. Without silence, stillness, and waiting, there is no hosting skill or talent.
  4. Without silence, stillness, and waiting, there is no hosting intelligence, knowing, or understanding.
  5. Without silence, stillness, and waiting, there is no hosting, and without hosting, you are amongst the living dead.

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Games Ego Plays

Quotations Communication: 6 Groups of Topics Menu


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Better Communication