--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: listening quietly\" was my general social…" description: "\"“listening quietly\" was my general social strategy.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg" --- # listening quietly" was my general social strategy. ![“listening quietly" was my general social strategy.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg) > ““listening quietly" was my general social strategy.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adopting a low‑key listening approach helps navigate social interactions smoothly. **In simple terms:** Quiet listening eases social life. Key Takeaway Observe more, speak less. Themes social skills communication empathy Mood thoughtful calm Type advice observational When to use this quote - networking events - team meetings - first dates - conflict resolution Key Concepts active listening social strategy Questions to Reflect On - How does listening quietly change your relationships? - When is speaking up more beneficial? A Different Perspective May miss opportunities to share ideas if too passive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) ## Related quotes > [I said nothing—I hadn’t known Marya, and anyway, “listening quietly” was my general social strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-said-nothing-i-hadn-t-known-marya-and-anyway-listening-quietly-was/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-most-creative-social-strategy-we-have-to-offer-is-the-church-here/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [The church doesn’t have a social strategy, the church is a social strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-church-doesn-t-have-a-social-strategy-the-church-is-a-social/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I am in the midst of a soliloquy! I wrote this out and memorized it and if you interrupt me I will completely screw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-in-the-midst-of-a-soliloquy-i-wrote-this-out-and-memorized-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When we quietly stand in the center of our own being, we find our way back to center in our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/when-we-quietly-stand-in-the-center-of-our-own-being-we-find-our-way/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I think perhaps we manage our revolutions much more quietly in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-think-perhaps-we-manage-our-revolutions-much-more-quietly-in-this/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly . prime it with a little solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-comes-to-us-slowly-and-quietly-prime-it-with-a-little/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The more I got into presenting things to the world, the further it was taking me away from what I was, which was someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/the-more-i-got-into-presenting-things-to-the-world-the-further-it-was/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [Quietly, President Obama has done warrantless wire tapping. And it was hardly covered. I don't know if any of the mainstream press bothered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/quietly-president-obama-has-done-warrantless-wire-tapping-and-it-was/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [“Read it to me.” “Seriously?” he said quietly. “You want me to read you poetry? Like saving your life ten times wasn’t enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-kelly/read-it-to-me-seriously-he-said-quietly-you-want-me-to-read-you/) [Brynn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-kelly/) > [We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-will-not-win-our-rights-by-staying-quietly-in-our-closets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [The church is never a place to show off. Do your good deeds quietly. Serve; don't seek to be seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-church-is-never-a-place-to-show-off-do-your-good-deeds-quietly/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I quietly work with my computer on the tour bus, and then I wait to make my more natural rhythms when I get home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jain/i-quietly-work-with-my-computer-on-the-tour-bus-and-then-i-wait-to/) [Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jain/) > [“You know what they say about writers: we can do it quietly, in many different positions, and all night long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-d-votey/you-know-what-they-say-about-writers-we-can-do-it-quietly-in-many/) [Christopher D. Votey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-d-votey/) > [Life is such a very troublesome matter, when all is said and done, that it's as well even to take its blessings quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-braddon/life-is-such-a-very-troublesome-matter-when-all-is-said-and-done-that/) [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-braddon/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. 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. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“listening quietly\" was my general social strategy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/listening-quietly-was-my-general-social-strategy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/listening-quietly-was-my-general-social-strategy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/john-green-12_communication_listening-quietly-was-my-general-social_259185.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“listening quietly\" was my general social strategy.” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“listening quietly\" was my general social...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/listening-quietly-was-my-general-social-strategy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/listening-quietly-was-my-general-social-strategy/#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 } } ] } ```