---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Speaking is half his that speaks, and…"
description: "\"Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg"
---

#  Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.

![“Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg)

> “Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.”

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Communication consists of both speaking and listening; each half is essential to understanding.

**In simple terms:** Speaking and listening are both needed for true communication.

Key Takeaway

Balance speaking with listening.

Themes

communication balance understanding dialogue

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical practical

When to use this quote

- team meetings
- teaching
- negotiations
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you listen as much as you speak?
- How can you improve your listening skills?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on speaking can drown out listening.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/)

## Related quotes

> [The word is half his that speaks, and half his that hears it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-word-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-half-his-that-hears-it/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-say-nothing-especially-when-speaking-is-half-the-art-of-diplomacy/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [He hears but half who hears one party only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/he-hears-but-half-who-hears-one-party-only/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I mean to say, I know perfectly well that I've got, roughly speaking, half the amount of brain a normal bloke ought to possess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-mean-to-say-i-know-perfectly-well-that-i-ve-got-roughly-speaking/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ My mom is my hero. \[She\] inspired me to dream when I was a kid, so anytime anyone inspires you to dream, that's gotta… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcgraw/my-mom-is-my-hero-she-inspired-me-to-dream-when-i-was-a-kid-so/)

[Tim McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcgraw/)

> [Never think about the mistakes you made. Think about the mistakes you will make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ross/never-think-about-the-mistakes-you-made-think-about-the-mistakes-you/)

[Bob Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ross/)

> [Inspire yourself with words that make you take the right actions. Tell yourself that you are here to do good and greater things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-valadez/inspire-yourself-with-words-that-make-you-take-the-right-actions-tell/)

[Benjamin Valadez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-valadez/)

> [“Greatness means setting out to make some difference somewhere to someone in someplace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolly-daskal/greatness-means-setting-out-to-make-some-difference-somewhere-to/)

[Lolly Daskal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolly-daskal/)

> [If I could inspire you for even a moment to be yourself and love yourself, and not let what anyone has to say hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-neal-hartry/if-i-could-inspire-you-for-even-a-moment-to-be-yourself-and-love/)

[Joshua Neal Hartry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-neal-hartry/)

> [“Greatness is inspiring others to be their best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-poirot/greatness-is-inspiring-others-to-be-their-best/)

[Ken Poirot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-poirot/)

> [“Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/life-is-about-accepting-the-challenges-along-the-way-choosing-to-keep/)

[Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/)

> [“Be where you are, stop over-thinking, and focus on what you are doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/be-where-you-are-stop-over-thinking-and-focus-on-what-you-are-doing/)

[Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/)

> [“We all have negative thoughts now and then, but we can choose not to dwell there and not to let them control us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/we-all-have-negative-thoughts-now-and-then-but-we-can-choose-not-to/)

[Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/)

> [“As you travel along the roads in life, there is a certain kind of peace that comes with knowing you're on the right path.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/as-you-travel-along-the-roads-in-life-there-is-a-certain-kind-of/)

[Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/)

> [If I look at the performance of another friend Sting, whenever I hear him take over a stage and share his art with millions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/if-i-look-at-the-performance-of-another-friend-sting-whenever-i-hear/)

[Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/)

## More by Michel de Montaigne

> [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

[Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## More Half quotes

> [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/)

Hubert Laws

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/)

Brian Reade

> [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/)

[Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

> [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/)

[Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/)

> [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/)

[Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/)

> [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/)

[Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/)

> [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/)

[Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/)

Browse all 8,570 Half quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-half-his-that-hears/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Half"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-half-his-that-hears/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/michel-de-montaigne-142_half_speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-hal_3198683.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Speaking is half his that speaks, and half his that hears.” — Michel de Montaigne",
                "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": "Michel de Montaigne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Speaking is half his that speaks,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-half-his-that-hears/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/speaking-is-half-his-that-speaks-and-half-his-that-hears/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```