Judith Martin Quotes

There's only a certain amount of times you can tell somebody what they should or shouldn't be doing. If they don't want to take it on board there's little you can do.

No advisor is ever listened to just because he insists on being heard.

What you say in defense of … ideas matters, and what people hear matters even more.

I feel like listening is a huge part of life - not only listening to people, but listening to people that you believe in, people who you think are wise.

If you talk, you only repeat something that you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something that you don't know.

People have to listen to somebody speak, that the person that you're listening to is saying the right stuff, and that's all that really counts.

The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What most people really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view.

All we have to do is listen. The Good Lord gave us two ears and only one mouth, my dear white-headed mother used to say.

One thing talk can't accomplish is communication. This is because everybody's talking too much to pay attention to what anyone is saying

If you think communication is all talking, you haven't been listening.

Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly.

In sales, it's not what you say; it's how they perceive what you say.

To advise is not to compel.

The best way to persuade people is with your ears - by listening to them.

It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

True wisdom listens more, talks less and can get along with all types of people.

Talk to people in their own language. If you do it well, they'll say, 'God, he said exactly what I was thinking.' And when they begin to respect you, they'll follow you to the death.

I think if you can get people to laugh, you can get people to listen.

In the end, people are persuaded not by what we say, but by what they understand.

If you want to get across an idea, wrap it up in person.

He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it.

What is important to me is that when I write something, people listen to me. I provide my wisdom to people, whether they agree or not.

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.