"I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention." -- Diane Sawyer  

"We should quietly hear both sides." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  

"The human body has two ears and one mouth. To be good at persuading or selling, you must learn to use those natural devices in proportion. Listen twice as much as you talk and you'll succeed in persuading others nearly every time." -– Tom Hopkins  

"Be a great listener.  Ask questions and listen intently to the answers." -– Brian Tracy

"A professional knows when his or her most effective presentation is not to give one. Do you have clients who are having a bad day? Don't try to sell to them. Do try to listen to them and earn their trust." -– Tom Hopkins  

"Hear your customer out completely, no matter how many times you've heard the same things before." -– Brian Tracy 

"Set up the listening. Prepare who you are talking to for what you want them to hear. Get people to listen as a possibility rather than a problem." -– Mal Pancoast

"Many people may listen, but few people actually hear." -- Harvey Mackay

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." -- Stephen Covey  

"It seems rather incongruous that in a society of super sophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners." -- Erma Bombeck  

"Most of us tend to suffer from 'agenda anxiety', the feeling that what we want to say to others is more important than what we think they might want to say to us." -– Nido Qubein

"Why is it so difficult to realize that others are more likely to listen to us if first we listen to them."-– John Wooden

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."-– Hubert Humphrey

"If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you already know."-– Johann Caspar Lavater

"Attentive listening to others lets them know that you love them and builds trust, the foundation of a loving relationship."-– Brian Tracy