--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should all know this: that listening…" description: "\"We should all know this: that listening, not talking, is the gifted and great role, and the imaginative role.\" — Brenda Ueland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/brenda-ueland-3836_communication_we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-n_2556305.png" --- # We should all know this: that listening, not talking, is… ![“We should all know this: that listening, not talking, is the gifted and great role, and the imaginative role.” quote by Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/brenda-ueland-3836_communication_we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-n_2556305.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/brenda-ueland-3836_communication_we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-n_2556305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d47/brenda-ueland-3836_communication_we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-n_2556305.png) > “We should all know this: that listening, not talking, is the gifted and great role, and the imaginative role.” [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening cultivates imagination and greatness, while speaking often limits creative insight. **In simple terms:** Listening fuels imagination; speaking can limit it. Key Takeaway Listen more, speak less. Themes listening imagination communication creativity Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team meetings - parenting - coaching - creative brainstorming Key Concepts psychology mindfulness dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve your listening skills? - When does speaking enhance your ideas? A Different Perspective Over‑listening can hinder personal expression if not balanced with speaking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Not talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-talking/) ## Related quotes > [ We should all know this: that listening is not talking; \[it\] is the gifted and great role and the imaginative role. And the true… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-is-not-talking-it-is-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [It's rather like attending a university seminar where you are talking to a few gifted specialists who deliver a paper to an audience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/it-s-rather-like-attending-a-university-seminar-where-you-are-talking/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Be careful what you wish for. You never know who will be listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-you-never-know-who-will-be-listening/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If anybody had a sense of history, it wasn't me, I'll tell you that. I, I was just enjoying life and, and making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cosimo-matassa/if-anybody-had-a-sense-of-history-it-wasn-t-me-i-ll-tell-you-that-i-i/) [Cosimo Matassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cosimo-matassa/) > [How we absorb music is unique. I know what I do. When I'm listening to music, I tend to find myself in a song.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-grant/how-we-absorb-music-is-unique-i-know-what-i-do-when-i-m-listening-to/) [Amy Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-grant/) > [Everyone knows people like that: You're looking at their milky, glazed-over eyes, and you know they're not listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-pell/everyone-knows-people-like-that-you-re-looking-at-their-milky-glazed/) [Paula Pell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-pell/) > [People unconsciously know when you are not listening to them. Then they say 'No' to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/people-unconsciously-know-when-you-are-not-listening-to-them-then/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [If you think you know it all, you are not listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-johnson-evans/if-you-think-you-know-it-all-you-are-not-listening/) Marsha Johnson Evans > [“People are most honest when they don't know you are listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thalia-chaltas/people-are-most-honest-when-they-don-t-know-you-are-listening/) [Thalia Chaltas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thalia-chaltas/) > [“Guess when you know no one's listening, you just stop talking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-stewart/guess-when-you-know-no-one-s-listening-you-just-stop-talking/) [Mariah Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-stewart/) > [You're addicting, the hard love, I'm use to it so when your yelling, know that I'm listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-addicting-the-hard-love-i-m-use-to-it-so-when-your-yelling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm tired of having to consult a group of old white guys about my black girl craft. They don't even know what they're listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azealia-banks/i-m-tired-of-having-to-consult-a-group-of-old-white-guys-about-my/) [Azealia Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azealia-banks/) > [Likewise, I would never be so rude as to not interrupt a friend. How else would she know I was listening?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/likewise-i-would-never-be-so-rude-as-to-not-interrupt-a-friend-how/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“The fact that you have access to the microphone doesn't mean you know everything. There are others listening to you, who know more things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-fact-that-you-have-access-to-the-microphone-doesn-t-mean-you-know/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Okay, here’s a cheat I learned in a leadership seminar. It’s called active listening. Someone says something, a complaint, or a criticism, or they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wildbow/okay-here-s-a-cheat-i-learned-in-a-leadership-seminar-it-s-called/) wildbow ## More by Brenda Ueland > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-i-did-not-wear-torn-pants-orthopedic-shoes-frantic-disheveled-hair/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“\[4It is hard to be carefree when you have many anxieties. But the more you have, the more necessary it is to feel carefree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/4it-is-hard-to-be-carefree-when-you-have-many-anxieties-but-the-more/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Self-trust is so important. When you launch on a story, make your neck loose, feel free, good-natured. And be lazy. 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No one ever calls it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/in-the-same-way-there-is-much-much-in-all-of-us-but-we-do-not-know-it/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-we-are-listened-to-it-creates-us-makes-us-unfold-and-expand/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. 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Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. 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