QuoteProject
When people are speaking, they require our undivided attention. We focus on them; we listen very carefully. We listen to the spoken words and the unspoken messages. This means looking directly at the person, eyes connected; we forget we have a watch, just focusing for that moment on that person.
Frances Hesselbein
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Active listening fosters genuine connection and understanding.

Frances Hesselbein emphasizes the importance of giving our full attention to others when they speak. This act of active listening, which includes both verbal and non-verbal cues, not only strengthens relationships but also enriches our understanding of the speaker's message, highlighting the significance of presence and mindfulness in our interactions.

Themes

ListeningAttentionCommunicationRelationshipsMindfulness

In practice

Example use cases

In a workshop on effective communication, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of active listening.

More from Frances Hesselbein

It takes courage for a leader to identify and confront self-imposed barriers, to put in place the personal strategies required to unleash the energy, innovation, and commitment to self-development.
Frances HesselbeinRead
Women are working for part or all of their adult lives now. The possibilities are limitless, but you need to prepare.
Frances HesselbeinRead
The real leader redefines or defines the mission in a very powerful way so that people understand it; it permeates the organization.
Frances HesselbeinRead
Leadership is not a basket of tricks or strategies or skills that you pull out. Leadership begins with the quality of the person.
Frances HesselbeinRead
Social-sector organizations have to be better managed than for-profit organizations... because they have no margin of error.
Frances HesselbeinRead
In my life, I don't have roadblocks and obstacles. I might have something you would call a 'challenge.' I throw that out the window, and I call that a wonderful opportunity.
Frances HesselbeinRead

Similar quotes

... there are four women in every man’s heart. The Maid in the Meadow, the Demon Lover, the Stouthearted Woman, the Tall and Quiet Woman.
Annie ProulxRead
But a man is not forgotten, as long as there are two people left under the sky. One, to tell the story; the other, to hear it.
Diana GabaldonRead
Some friends of Israel believe that the Palestinians will never, in their hearts, accept a Jewish state in Palestine. Yet Germans and French, Chinese and Japanese, Mexicans and Americans have overcome their once insurmountable differences. Palestinians and Jews also have much to gain from peaceful coexistence.
Antony BlinkenRead
A prolonged silence ensues. The reason for the silence is our growing interest one for the other. No one is aware of it, no one yet; no one? am I quite sure?
Marguerite DurasRead
There was nowhere to go, but I turned to go and met Atticus's vest front. I buried my head in it and listened to the small internal noises that went on behind the light blue cloth: his watch ticking, the faint crackle of his starched shirt, the soft sound of his breathing. 'Your stomach's growling,' I said. 'I know it,' he said.
Harper LeeRead
Your luck is how you treat people.
Bette DavisRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.