You can't truly listen to someone and do anything else at the same time.
Julian TreasureRead
The need to be right can arise from a fear of being disrespected. Or it may come out of the fear of being seen as we really are: as flawed human beings who are perfectly imperfect and full of contradictions and confusions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The desire to be correct often stems from insecurity about one's worth and flaws.
Julian Treasure's quote reflects on the psychological motivations behind the need to assert one's correctness in conversations and debates. It suggests that this need may arise from deep-seated fears of disrespect and vulnerability, highlighting the common human struggle with self-acceptance and the fear of exposing our imperfections and contradictions to others.
Themes
FearRespectFlawsHumanityImperfection
In practice
Example use cases
In a personal development workshop discussing the importance of self-acceptance.
More from Julian Treasure
All quotes →The human voice: It's the instrument we all play. It's the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It's the only one that can start a war or say 'I love you.' And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don't listen to them.
Julian TreasureRead
Intention is very important in sound, in listening. When I married my wife, I promised her I would listen to her every day as if for the first time. Now that's something I fall short of on a daily basis.
Julian TreasureRead
Just three minutes a day of silence is a wonderful exercise to reset your ears and to recalibrate so that you can hear the quiet again. If you can't get absolute silence, go for quiet; that's absolutely fine.
Julian TreasureRead
People find birdsong relaxing and reassuring because over thousands of years, they have learnt when the birds sing, they are safe; it's when birds stop singing that people need to worry.
Julian TreasureRead
This devaluing of listening is handed down from generation to generation. There are many children who don't have the experience of being listened to by their parents.
Julian TreasureRead
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