Comment: To notice what others miss is to cultivate both empathy and insight, skills vital in any meaningful dialogue.When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say.
Most people never listen. Nor do they observe.
You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that.
If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.
Try that for practice.
Credit: Ernest Hemingway
Posts where this quotation is embedded
- Listen with the Intent to Understand Don't listen with the intent to reply
Image Credits: Pixabay
(Pixabay) Conversational Leadership Workshop
In-person, 7–11 September 2026
Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK
In-person, 7–11 September 2026
Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK
We are living and working in conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and rapid change. This week-long workshop with David Gurteen and John Hovell offers a space to practise Conversational Leadership as a shared, lived experience.
This quotation is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. It is one of many quotations that have influenced my thinking on the subject. Parts of this blook have restricted access. You may browse the pages open to you, but you will need to register and be approved before you can login and access the full site. When you register, you may also sign-up to receive a quotation of the day by email.