Hugh Prather Quotes

It took me a while to realize that the only way to really communicate with people is to give them your point of view.

I see myself in everything I write. All the good guys are me.

And no one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves.

Stick to the man who looks out of the window and tries to understand the world. Keep clear of the man who looks in at the window and tries to understand you.

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.

There is a craft and a power in listening.

I write and sing about whatever I am able to understand and feel. I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.

Remember, it takes two to make an argument. The one who is wrong is the one who will be doing most of the talking.

People love to talk but hate to listen. Listening is not merely not talking, though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us. You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer.

Listen to what people say about themselves; they will tell you everything you need to know.

Most of us are experts at solving other people's problems, but we generally solve them in terms of our own and the advice we give is seldom for other people but for ourselves.

It is not the hearing that improves life, but the listening.

Many people may listen, but few people actually hear.

I used to say that interviewing others was perhaps the way I could stop talking and start listening. It's a kind of enforced silence.

I said, I'm going to stand up and somebody is going to pay attention to me.

Isn't it amazing how much better you listen when you are in need?

This is the problem with dealing with someone who is actually a good listener. They don’t jump in on your sentences, saving you from actually finishing them, or talk over you, allowing what you do manage to get out to be lost or altered in transit. Instead, they wait, so you have to keep going.

all the advice you ever gave your partner is for you to hear

Proper listening is the foundation of proper living.

What you look at hard seems to look at you.

We often get caught up in our own reactions and forget the vulnerability of the person in front of us.

They say, "Katie, you're wrong." And if I say, "How dare you say that? I have studied and studied." Or, "I am an expert in" whatever area we're talking about. Or, "No, you are wrong! And I think you're rude!" Or anything like that, and if we don't say it out loud, maybe we think it, but that's stressful. The moment I've defended, in any way, I've started the war.

There is no mystery about successful business.... Exclusive attention to the person who is speaking to you.

Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.

I think listening to people is helpful.