The quotations on this page are broadly connected to the theme of conversation. in one way or another.
Quotations are extremely effective at capturing and concisely communicating thoughts and ideas. They can be inspirational, provoke our thinking, and, more importantly, they can help us reveal and assess the assumptions, values, and beliefs that underlie how we perceive the world.
While most of the quotes in this blook reflect my views, not all do. Some are intended as provocations, to encourage deeper reflection on the subject.
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There are 54 quotations in the list below.
A Conversation Begun in the Primeval Forests Michael Oakeshott - As civilized human beings, we are the inheritors, neither of an inquiry about ourselves and the world, nor of an… A Gathering Serves Two Functions Peter Block - A new future is created when each gathering (or meeting) becomes an opportunity to deepen accountability and commitment through engagement.… A Leader’s Greatest Challenges Richard Branson - This "us and them" problem is exacerbated by our reliance on impersonal communications technologies. One of a leader's greatest challenges… A Real Revolution in Culture David Bohm - Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view or conform to those… Be Brave Enough to Start a Conversation That Matters Meg Wheatley - Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. | Margaret Wheatley Being Seen, Heard, Understood and Touched Virginia Satir - I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by… Believing What You Think I Said Robert J. McCloskey - I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but, I am not sure you realize that… Boring Conversation Michel de Montaigne - There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees. | Michel de Montaigne Civilization and Communal Knowledge Friedrich Hayek - It is largely because civilization enables us constantly to profit from knowledge which we individually do not possess and because… Convening Conversations That Might Not Happen Otherwise Patricia Shaw - One of the ways of thinking about leadership is thinking about convening conversations that might not happen otherwise. | Patricia… Conversation Has a Kind of Charm About It Lucius Annaeus Seneca - Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets from us just like… Conversation Is a Form of Interactive, Spontaneous Communication Wikipedia - Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. Typically it occurs in spoken communication, as… Conversation Is King Cory Doctorow - Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about. | Cory Doctorow Conversation Is the Breath of the Curious, Learning Life Tom Peters - Conversation is the breath of the curious, learning life. | Tom Peters Conversation Is the Most Powerful Learning Technology Ever Invented Jay Cross - Conversation is the most powerful learning technology ever invented. Conversations carry news, create meaning, foster cooperation, and spark innovation. Encouraging… Conversation Is the Single Greatest Learning Tool in Your Organization William O'Brien - Conversation is the single greatest learning tool in your organization — more important than computers or sophisticated research. As a… Conversation Is the Vehicle for Change Terry Tempest Williams - Conversation is the vehicle for change. We test our ideas. We hear our own voice in a concert with another.… Conversation Is the Way That Humans Have Always Thought Together Meg Wheatley - Conversation is the way that humans have always thought together. In conversation we discover shared meaning. It is the primal… Conversation. What Is It? A Mystery! Guy de Maupassant - Conversation. What is it? A Mystery! It's the art of never seeming bored, of touching everything with interest, of pleasing… Conversational Leadership Replaces Monologue with Dialogue Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind, 2012 - Conversational leadership replaces the simplicity of monologue with the unpredictable vitality of dialogue. Conversation is open and fluid rather than… Conversations Among Friends Are the Best Technology Ever Invented Nate Hagens - After basic needs are met, conversations among friends are the best technology ever invented by humans because you don't know… Conversations Are the Most Important Form of Work Alan Webber - In the new economy, conversations are the most important form of work. Conversations are the way knowledge workers discover what… Conversations Overcome the Class Structure of Business David Weinberger - People implicitly acknowledge that they don't have all the answers (or else the conversation is really a lecture) and risk… Democracy Is a Conversation Yuval Noah Harari (2023) - Democray is a conversation ... Modern democracy as we know it, it's built on top of specific information technology. Once… Dialogue Is a Disciplined Form of Conversation David Bohm - Dialogue is a disciplined form of conversation. It is an emerging process that has tremendous potential for transforming the way… Excited Conversation Ralph Waldo Emerson - In excited conversation we have glimpses of the universe, hints of power native to the soul, far-darting lights and shadows… For the Human Species to Evolve, the Conversation Must Deepen Margaret Mead - For the human species to evolve, the conversation must deepen. | Margaret Mead Gadfly Socrates - So now, Athenian men, more than on my own behalf must I defend myself, as some may think, but on… Good Conversation Paula Marantz Cohen - Good conversation mixes opinions, feelings, facts, and ideas in an improvisational exchange with one or more individuals in an atmosphere… Have More Conversations with People Whom You Disagree Oprah Winfrey - And even though this is the college where Facebook was born, my hope is that you would try to go… I Believe We Can Change the World If We Start Listening to One Another Again Meg Wheatley - I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation. Not… I Have No Doctrine, I Carry on a Dialogue Martin Buber - I have to tell it again and again: I have no doctrine. I only point out something. I point out… If You Value Conversation, You Will Make Time for It David Gurteen - Don't use the excuse that you don't have time to talk. If you value conversation, you will make time for… Imagine a Culture Where an Argument Is Viewed as a Dance George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen - Imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the participants are seen as performers, and the goal… In a Conversation the Participants Are Not Engaged in an Inquiry Michael Oakeshott - In a conversation the participants are not engaged in an inquiry or a debate; there is no 'truth' to be… It’s Up to Us to Decide on the Kind of Conversations We Have Theodore Zeldin - It's up to us to decide on the kind of conversations we have. The way we talk at the office… Let the Conversation Flow at Its Own Pace Max Weiss - Let the conversation flow at its own pace, don’t try to rush it or control it. You need to let… Most Conversations Are Simply Monologues Margaret Millar - Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses. | Margaret Millar On Becoming Silent About Things Martin Luther King Jr. - Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. | Martin Luther King Jr. Organizations as Dynamic Webs of Conversation Juanita Brown and David Isaacs - Conversational leadership takes root when leaders see their organizations as dynamic webs of conversation and consider conversation as a core… Our Most Effective Knowledge Management Tool Is Conversation Nancy Dixon - Our most effective knowledge management tool is conversation. The words we choose, the questions we ask, and the metaphors we… Our Society Is Dangerously Polarised Munk Debates - Our society is dangerously polarised. We don’t listen to each other. Too many of us are separating into ideological tribes.… People, Play and Conversation Plato - You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. | Plato Predicting or Controlling a Conversation Peter Block - We think that if we can control or predict how a conversation will go, it will improve its quality and… Public Discourse Is Like Having a Fight Deborah Tannen - Our public interactions have become more and more like having an argument with a spouse. Conflict can't be avoided in… Sensing Our World Verna Allee - We are in a constant, collective journey of storytelling, sense making, and creation. Knowledge is a conversation. It is not… Simple Conversations Give Birth to Actions Meg Wheatley - Nothing has given me more hope recently than to observe how simple conversations give birth to actions that can change… Technology Does Not Automatically Improve Conversation Theodore Zeldin - Technology does not automatically improve conversation, communication or behaviour. | Theodore Zeldin The Book Medium Is a Stronger Message Than Its Content Marshall McLuhan - When I was teaching at Columbia University, techno-prophet Marshall McLuhan came down from Toronto to lecture there. He talked about… The Challenge of Open Dialogue in an Age of Technological Division Sam Harris (2025) - I think we need a truly open-ended conversation with 8 billion strangers, and what makes that hard to do increasingly… The Conversation of Mankind Michael Oakeshott - In a conversation the participants are not engaged in an inquiry or a debate; there is no 'truth' to be… The Function of Your Writing Is to Move a Conversation Forward Larry McEnerney - The function of your writing is to move a conversation forward. | Larry McEnerney The Great Gift of Conversation Jean de La Bruyère - The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others. He who… The Kind of Conversation I Like David Gurteen - The kind of conversation I like is one where everyone is prepared to speak up and does not feel the… The Kind of Conversation I Like Theodore Zeldin - The kind of conversation I like is one in which you are prepared to emerge a slightly different person. |… The Most Fruitful and Natural Play of the Mind Is in Conversation Michel de Montaigne - In my opinion, the most fruitful and natural play of the mind is in conversation. I find it sweeter than… The Politics of Our Society Are a Conversation Michael Oakeshott - The politics of our society are a conversation in which past, present and future each has a voice; and though… The Separation of the Learned From the Conversible World David Hume (1742) - The Separation of the Learned from the conversible World seems to have been the great Defect of the last Age,… There Ain’t Them So Blind as Them That Won’t Listen Delboy's Old Mum - There ain't them so blind as them that won't listen. Credit: Delboy's Old Mum Only Fools and Horses http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools Thinking and Spoken Discourse Plato - Thinking and spoken discourse are the same thing, except that what we call thinking is, precisely, the inward dialogue carried… To Really Work Conversationally Johnnie Moore, 2023 - To really work conversationally, I think, is potentially to be really open to the complexity of what being human is… We Are So Steeped in Debate Theodore Zeldin - Unfortunately we are so steeped in debate, proving one's point and challenging others, that alternative possibilities for interaction are often… We Don’t Have a Good Word for Engaging in a Non-hostile Disagreement Ian Leslie - We don’t have a good word for engaging in a non-hostile disagreement with the shared aim of moving the participants… We Had Talk Enough, but No Conversation Samuel Johnson - We had talk enough, but no conversation; there was nothing discussed. | Samuel Johnson Webs of Human Conversations Fernando Flores - An organsation's results are determined through webs of human commitments, born in webs of human conversations. | Fernando Flores What Is an Oracy Lab? David Gurteen - The Oracy Lab is an experimental space for exploring the power and possibilities of spoken communication for conveying meaning and… What Is Complex Leadership? Ted Cadsby - What is complex leadership? It starts by understanding the strengths and vulnerabilities of group dialogue. It uses this knowledge to… Without Dialogue Megan Reitz - Without dialogue, we extinguish ideas, we cover up wrongdoing, the quality of our decision-making deteriorates and our engagement plummets. |… Google Web Search
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This page is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. Parts of this book have restricted access. You can learn more about the book and how to obtain full access on the home page.
Online Knowledge Café: Conversational Leadership — Beyond Knowledge Management
Wednesday 17th March 2026, 14:00 - 15:30 London time
Knowledge Management gives us access to information, but it does not decide or act. In this Knowledge Café, we will explore how Conversational Leadership builds on KM by strengthening shared reasoning, judgement, and agency. Join us to examine how we think together when knowledge alone is not enough.