--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Open your ears before you open your…" description: "\"Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!\" — Earl Nightingale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png" --- # Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise… ![“Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!” quote by Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png) > “Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!” [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listen first to gather information and perspective, then speak, which can reveal unexpected insights. **In simple terms:** Listen before speaking Key Takeaway Listening reveals hidden truths Themes communication mindfulness learning perception wisdom Mood thoughtful curious reflective Type advice proverb maxim When to use this quote - team meetings - negotiations - conflict resolution - customer service - personal relationships Key Concepts active listening cognitive bias empathy Practical Applications - improved decision making - enhanced collaboration Questions to Reflect On - How might listening first change your outcomes? - What assumptions do you reveal when you speak without listening? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [Nicole was always there with her door open, her arms open, her ears open - just what you need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/nicole-was-always-there-with-her-door-open-her-arms-open-her-ears/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [Bird Poop in the mouth is always a surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-benzine/bird-poop-in-the-mouth-is-always-a-surprise/) [Craig Benzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-benzine/) > [There would not be so many open mouths if there were not so many open ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/there-would-not-be-so-many-open-mouths-if-there-were-not-so-many-open/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [The best thing you can probably do is keep a low profile, keep your eyes and ears open, your mouth shut, and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cm-punk/the-best-thing-you-can-probably-do-is-keep-a-low-profile-keep-your/) [CM Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cm-punk/) > [Success comes from keeping the ears open and the mouth closed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/success-comes-from-keeping-the-ears-open-and-the-mouth-closed/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [You want to talk to someone; first open your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/you-want-to-talk-to-someone-first-open-your-ears/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [I believe that through our political process we have an opportunity for people to open their ears, their minds and their hearts to listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/i-believe-that-through-our-political-process-we-have-an-opportunity/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) > [“I said no, there would't be marvelous places to go to after I went to college and all. Open your ears. It'd be entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-said-no-there-would-t-be-marvelous-places-to-go-to-after-i-went-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Open your eyes and see. Open your heart and feel. Open your mind and perceive and open your ears and listen. Dont be deceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-matobo/open-your-eyes-and-see-open-your-heart-and-feel-open-your-mind-and/) [Frank Matobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-matobo/) > [Sometimes some problems can be solved if you are willing to shut your mouth and learn how to open your ears,heart and head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-mbululo/sometimes-some-problems-can-be-solved-if-you-are-willing-to-shut-your/) [Ally Mbululo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-mbululo/) > [“Keep listening. With open ears, you will be one of the few who learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-cach/keep-listening-with-open-ears-you-will-be-one-of-the-few-who-learn/) [Lisa Cach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-cach/) > [“This corn will teach to you, should you peel away the husk, and be willing to open your ears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/this-corn-will-teach-to-you-should-you-peel-away-the-husk-and-be/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [I have open ears, and I have a personality to hear out other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/i-have-open-ears-and-i-have-a-personality-to-hear-out-other-people/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) > [I'm involved in Northern Ireland Screen and have been for a long time, so I keep my eyes open and ears to the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/i-m-involved-in-northern-ireland-screen-and-have-been-for-a-long-time/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [I've always had control of what I played on the air. I have always had very open ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-simpson/i-ve-always-had-control-of-what-i-played-on-the-air-i-have-always-had/) [Donnie Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-simpson/) ## More by Earl Nightingale > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [People don't have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/people-don-t-have-great-attitudes-because-of-great-success-they-have/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-more-intensely-we-feel-about-an-idea-or-a-goal-the-more-assuredly/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.\[so we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-all-walk-in-the-dark-and-each-of-us-must-learn-to-turn-on-his-or/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-minimize-the-things-we-can-do-the-goals-we-can-accomplish/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [You can predict a person?s future and divine his bank balance if you know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/you-can-predict-a-person-s-future-and-divine-his-bank-balance-if-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do; our ability to do it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-amount-of-money-we-receive-will-always-be-in-direct-ratio-to-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“And the greatest teacher of them all, the carpenter from the plains of Galilee, gave us the Secret time and time again, "As ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/and-the-greatest-teacher-of-them-all-the-carpenter-from-the-plains-of/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [A success is anyone who is doing deliberately a pre-determined job, because that's what he decided to do deliberately. But only one out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/a-success-is-anyone-who-is-doing-deliberately-a-pre-determined-job/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-to-believe-that-you-are/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We may avoid the laws of man, but there are greater laws that can't be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-may-avoid-the-laws-of-man-but-there-are-greater-laws-that-can-t-be/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [About 95% of people can be compared to ships without rudders. Subject to every shift of wind and tide, they're helplessly adrift. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/about-95-of-people-can-be-compared-to-ships-without-rudders-subject/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) [Explore all 213 Earl Nightingale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Earl Nightingale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/earl-nightingale-1728_ears_open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mout_18587.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!” — Earl Nightingale", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Earl Nightingale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Open your ears before you open...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```