Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate. Gerald Ford
Communication is the glue that holds relationships together. It is the chief means by which people relate to one another.
Communication, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the absence of communication, people will create their own messages, typically in the form of rumor, innuendo, and gossip.
The void created by the failure to communicate is soon filled with poison, drivel, and misrepresentation. Northcote Parkinson
People get used to poor communication and accept it as a natural part of life.
Most, if not all, people think they are better communicators than they really are.
The biggest miscommunication is to assume communication has taken place.
When communication is done correctly, people will be inspired to follow, and in the process will achieve inspired results for themselves, for the leader, and for the organization.
Most conflicts and controversies are caused by people not understanding one another.
The moment people see that they are being understood, they become motivated to understand your point of view.
Everybody wants to feel important. Everybody can feel important when somebody understands and believes them. It doesn’t take much effort to help people feel important. Little things, done deliberately, at the right time, can make a big difference.
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk. Doug Larson
One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears — by listening to them. Dean Rusk
The answers are in the questions.
People’s opinions, thoughts, and desires are often molded by the questions they are asked. Kevin Hogan
I’d rather know some of the questions than all of the answers. James Thurber
When you talk you only say something that you already know. When you listen, you learn what someone else knows.
One of the key principles of business management is that words of encouragement or discouragement affect production. Leaders have great power to encourage and build up or destroy, discourage, and debilitate their followers with words.
If you want to change what people are doing, you have to change what they are thinking. To change what they are thinking, you have to change what you are saying and, perhaps, how you are saying it.
