Tarana Burke Quotes

During the writing of all of my books, I've learned that, most of all, people want to know that someone is listening and - this is the tricky part - remembering.

Children don't need much advice but they really do need to be listened to and not just with half an ear.

Listening is a sign of respect.

When people feel they’re heard and understood, they’ll listen.

I think I'm always trying to see the other's point of view, dealing in a very heart-to-heart way.

You really have to be careful about what you do and think about other people around you, as human beings who feel things, and you have to learn to be empathetic and notice the signs of people who are going through trouble.

Finding your soul begins by discovering our ability to listen! Alternatively, by sharing a smile, a laugh and just by being human to everyone - from friends, colleagues, family, and especially strangers, including those who are not from the same station in life as you.

Empathy is the most mysterious transaction that the human soul can have, and it's accessible to all of us, but we have to give ourselves the opportunity to identify, to plunge ourselves in a story where we see the world from the bottom up or through another's eyes or heart.

The man who can put himself in the place of other men, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for him.

I would just like a woman someday, somewhere, at some point in my life to say to me, 'You're a great listener.' Haven't heard it yet, and that's a superior compliment to get from a woman. But I'm going to work on it.

Good listeners have a huge advantage. For one, when they engage in conversation, they make people 'feel' heard. They 'feel' that someone really understands their wants, needs and desires. And for good reason; a good listener does care to understand.

The portal into people's hearts is being interested in them.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned during my time on 'Oprah' is that everyone wants to be heard. We all want to have our humanity acknowledged - to have others see us for who we truly are. We all want to know that we are valued, we are heard, we are understood.

A prerequisite to empathy is simply paying attention to the person in pain.

One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.

When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it's like giving them emotional oxygen.

It takes a little bit of mindfulness and a little bit of attention to others to be a good listener, which helps cultivate emotional nurturing and engagement.

My whole thing is feel free to hate me - I so don't care if you hate me, but meet me, and listen to my record, and know me before you hate me.

You don't accomplish a lot by changing people's opinions by shoving facts down their throat. I think you change people's opinions by opening your heart up and showing the parallels between you and another person. That's how people's ideas shift.

When I was young I used to listen to other people and to try and understand what they thought and where they were coming from. I listened and didn't speak.

In my experience with women that I've dated and my wife now, is you have to know what they care about. And even if you aren't a huge fan of it, you still have to have interest in it and it has to be genuine because women do it for men all the time.

Well, I think when we can turn to the person sitting next to us and really see them with kindness and see ourselves reflected back - when there's some dignity and compassion traveling back and forth.

Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.

There is nothing wrong with listening. You can listen to people; you can hear people's concerns. You can keep an open mind and still be perfectly strong.

I have always worked from that place, that if you are going to inhabit someone and get under their eyes, you need to have empathy.