Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes

Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening.

I’ve learnt to listen. I don’t think I always did listen. Not just in plays, but in life. And you have to hear what people are saying before you can respond.

You know, I have come to think listening is love, that's what it really is.

I think listening to people is helpful.

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them.

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

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

There is as much wisdom in listening as there is in speaking - and that goes for all relationships, not just romantic ones.

Having two ears and one tongue, we should listen twice as much as we speak.

It's so easy to butt into a conversation and offer your own thoughts or opinions, but try not to interrupt. Instead, focus on what the other person is saying, think twice and be the person that listens. It's so much more valuable than constantly talking.

Listen if you want to be heard

Listen now. When people talk listen completely. Don't be thinking what you're going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe.

Listening is everything. Listening is the whole deal. That's what I think. And I mean that in terms of before you work, after you work, in between work, with your children, with your husband, with your friends, with your mother, with your father. It's everything. And it's where you learn everything.

Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart.

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking our words more seriously and discovering their true selves.

The sheer act of listening speaks volumes that even a great speech can't communicate.

We too can be saints in our family, in our neighborhood, wherever we live and work. Be a person who listens to what people need, communicating not only to grieve or tell others about your own problems. Listen in order to intercede and help out.

The work of your heart, the work of taking time, to listen, to help, is also your gift to the whole of the world

We all really need to listen to each other, including to the boring bits.

An open ear is the only believable sign of an open heart.

The key ingredient in family communication is listening, really listening.

We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.

One of the things I found is that the things we want to say for well-intentioned motives often cause more harm than good. People don't need our words. They mainly need our presence, they need our love. And if you come in too quickly with explanations, you may do more harm than good.

Listening is a very deep practice. You have to empty yourself. You have to leave space in order to listen especially to people we think are our enemies - the ones we believe are making our situation worse. When you have shown your capacity for listening and understanding, the other person will begin to listen to you, and you have a change to tell him or her of your pain, and it's your turn to be healed. This is the practice of peace.

If you want to be a good conversationalist, be a good listener. To be interesting, be interested.