John W. Gardner Quotes

Communication is number one, and we have to communicate honestly and openly with each other.

Communication is the key to successful relationships.

The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.

Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the largest single factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes with others and what happens to him in the world about him.

Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

Great communication depends on two simple skills-context, which attunes a leader to the same frequency as his or her audience, and delivery, which allows a leader to phrase messages in a language the audience can understand.

Our lives depend on good communication. Good communication helps personal relationships, it helps bosses and employees get along better. We rely on it.

Listen twice as much as you speak.

Communication is a process of sharing experience till it becomes a common possession. It modifies the disposition of both the parties who partake in it.

As soon as you move one step up from the bottom, your effectiveness depends on your ability to reach others through the spoken and written word.

Only when people learn to converse will they begin to be equal.

Communication in every which way is everything for the leader.

I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. Business people need to listen at least as much as they need to talk. Too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.

Communication is to relationships what breath is to life.

Silence isn't golden and it surely doesn't mean consent, so start practicing the art of communication.

Effective communication is built on the cement of trust. And trust is based on trustworthiness, not politics.

Listening can make the difference between a mediocre organization and a great one.

You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door.

If there is one general law of communication it is that we never communicate as effectively as we think we do.

The most important thing for a director is being able to communicate. When you communicate comfortably, regardless of what you're saying, it can always be processed.

Relationship is action, is it not? Action has meaning only in relationship; without understanding relationship, action on any level will only breed conflict. The understanding of relationship is infinitely more important than the search for any plan of action. The ideology, the pattern for action, prevents action. Action based on ideology hinders the understanding of relationship between man and man.

Communication is my thing.

The quality of business communications has become poorer in recent years as people avoid phone calls and face-to-face meetings, I can only assume, in some misguided quest for efficiency.

If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.

It's rare in movies or even in life where somebody owns up to their needs. I guess in a relationship it's the only way it has a chance to survive it.