Robert H. Michel Quotes

Carrying our successful diplomacy is difficult if you do not have ears for things you do not want to hear.

If you have learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secrete of getting along - whether it be business, family relations, or life itself.

Relationships are negotiated and if you deal with ultimatums and authority all the time, then you're not going to get anywhere.

I have a good relationship with the world. But I don't know what the trick is to maintaining it.

I have tried to treat people on the other side civilly and look for common ground.

In life and in politics, it's helpful to try to perceive the other person through the most generous lens.

I think I'm always trying to see the other's point of view, dealing in a very heart-to-heart way.

I've got my own mind, and I'll talk about it, but I'm willing to listen. I'm very balanced like that. If you don't want a guy who's balanced, who wants to win, and can bring people together well... I don't know.

When people express opinions that differ from yours, take it as a chance to grow. Seek to understand over being understood. Be curious, not defensive. The only way to disarm another human being is by listening.

The next time you find yourself in an argument, rather than defend your position, see if you can see the other point of view first.

That most dangerous of opponents: the one who took pains to comprehend the position of his adversary.

But you've got to understand what the other guy is about, even if at the end of the process you decide that there is no ground with this man or woman except to fight them.

It is understanding that gives us an ability to have peace. When we understand the other fellow's viewpoint, and he understands ours, then we can sit down and work out our differences.

If one sticks too rigidly to one's principles, one would hardly see anybody.

I try to be respectful of how other people think, I try to listen to what they're saying.

If we have any hope for survival of the music that we all love, compassion must replace name-calling, fairness must replace greed, and we need to come together as a musical community and try to understand each other's problems.

The strong should always permit the weak and aggrieved to talk, to bluster, and scold without taking offence; and if we had so acted, and exercised proper skill in the management of our affairs, Mexico and ourselves would, by this time, have quietly and peaceably settled all difficulties and been good friends.

I do believe that in order to be a successful negotiator that as a diplomat, you have to be able to put yourself into the other person's shoes. Unless you can understand what is motivating them, you are never going to be able to figure out how to solve a particular problem.

I don't have the activist temperament. I like listening to divergent points of view and hearing people out. I like getting along. I even like being liked, although activists of any stripe should get rid of that handicap at the outset.

We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another - until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.

Tolerance, compromise, understanding, acceptance, patience - I want those all to be very sharp tools in my shed.

Without aggression, it becomes possible to think well, to be curious about differences, and to enjoy each other's company.

Interest does not tie nations together; it sometimes separates them. But sympathy and understanding does unite them.

Listening is a sign of respect.

It’s important for me to hear others position and understand them.