Doug Aitken Quotes

I like having conversations: you learn a lot about how other people think. If I'm myself and confident, I don't get nervous easily. I try not to make other people uncomfortable - I think that's a very arrogant thing to do.

To me, having the courage to tell your own story goes hand in hand with having the curiosity and humility to listen to others' stories.

Listen more than you talk.

My job is to have empathy and curiosity for things that I've never done. Also, I'm a person whom people talk to.

In order to practice dialogue, you need to be able to set aside your assumptions and try to listen more than you want to talk. It's not always politically correct to be able to do that, but it can give you a better sense of the reality.

I had to learn to be more open with people and to know how to show that I was interested in them.

Real men know how to listen, and real men know how to be honest.

There is a time to speak and a time to listen, and sometimes people need to shut up.

I'm certainly honest - and I can be socially awkward.

The fact that you are willing to say, 'I do not understand, and it is fine,' is the greatest understanding you could exhibit.

I'm an ordinary Hackney boy, and I can talk to people.

I don't know much, but I like talking to people who know a lot more than I do.

I can be a good listener. I can ask the right questions a lot of the time.

Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us.

You really have to listen and be vulnerable and open to the other actors and the environment.

I think, to be a great conversationalist, you need to be interested in being in said conversation. Oddly enough, I think you need to be a great listener, and I do think I'm a good listener. I think that's my asset - I always listen to people when I talk to them, and that's a big thing you have to have in life and in podcasts.

I try to ask a question rather than give a speech.

I have an increasingly strong feeling that all of us, myself included, too many times make too many statements and don't ask enough questions.

In general, I'd rather ask questions and look stupid than keep quiet and not understand what someone's talking about.

I think I'm a pretty good listener.

Listen more than you speak.

I love interviewing people and getting them to talk about things they've never talk about.

Always keep your ego in check and not be afraid to listen. Listening is a great art form.

A willingness to drop your ego and let yourself look foolish. You almost have to enjoy looking vulnerable. You'd be surprised how many people don't want to do that.

I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness.