Henri Nouwen Quotes

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

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.

It sounds cliche, but communication is the number one way to keep a relationship solid.

Life is a conversation. Make it a good one.

It's so important to keep a marriage alive with small treats and doing little things for each other. Just remembering to say nice things and to have listening time is vital. That ghastly phrase 'quality time' means taking three minutes to sit down and be still with someone rather than yelling over your shoulder as you rush out.

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.

Listening moves us closer, it helps us become more whole, more healthy, more holy. Not listening creates fragmentation, and fragmentation is the root of all suffering.

Having two ears and one tongue, we should listen twice as much as we speak.

Empathy goes a long way, for sure. We cannot have healthy, loving, mutually respectful relationships without it. But we're not psychic. At least I'm not. And intuition can only take you so far, especially when a person's sense of safety, comfort, and self-worth hangs in the balance.

I think there's such a fine line in a relationship. The role of imagination and privacy... how much space can you allow before that becomes distance? And similarly, imagination is empathy. That's how you achieve empathy. It's how you can be with another person and understand how they are in the world.

The greatest skill that I have is what the viewer has: I listen. I try to listen silently.

I think, in a world of mouths, I want to be an ear.

I think the truest things come from silence, but everything's always so clogged up with noise. If everything falls away, and you can truly listen to someone, giving them yourself and generosity, you can truly lose yourself in what they're saying. Like, not impose your ideas on what they're saying, but really tune into them.

Love is reaching out to try to get to the other person.

What I need to do to heal myself and to be assuring and allay the fears of others and to heal them if they had any heart wounds from something I may have said.

People will feel safer around you and speak truthfully to you when they feel you are listening intently to them.

I love being honest and intimate with people. I love building community. I love emailing with readers.

I think you can be the greatest orator of all time, the greatest motivator of all times, but if those players know that you don't care about them, and you don't try to understand them, then they're never going to hear what you have to say.

Connecting with Canadians isn't about what you say, it's about what you're listening to. It's about what you understand.

The beauty of social awareness is that a few simple adjustments to what you say can vastly improve your relationships with other people.

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

Why did God give me two ears and one mouth? So that I will hear more and talk less.

Silence may be golden, but can you think of a better way to entertain someone than to listen to him?

Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. When the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. And that can make a world of difference.