Listening

“Put it to the test. Next time you’re in a social situation, do all the talking and see what happens. Then, switch to a different group and start asking questions and listening. Pull the story out of them and you’ll see a big difference.” - Phil Cooke

“Consider 12 ways to improve your listening and make others feel heard. (My advice: Pick one or two to apply in your next interaction. Once you’ve done that, return to this article and pick another one or two to add.)” - TGC

“David writes, ‘As a society, we have failed to teach the skills and cultivate the inclination to treat each other with kindness, generosity, and respect.’” - TGC

“All of us are interviewers. We also can’t escape being interviewed, either formally or informally. Good questions and answers are some of the building blocks of God-honoring conversation.” - Ref21

If “you only think of confrontational conversations, short-term intense efforts to guide non-Christians into instant conversions… then you have a pretty narrow, unrealistic, and inefficient view of evangelism.” - Word by Word

“Pre-judging like this causes a lot of damage in relationships, churches, and ministries. Instead of approaching disagreements as matters worthy of sincere effort to understand and apply the Scriptures, motives and actions are judged harshly.” - Dave Doran

“I’m not a very good listener. I tend to have multiple things on my mind, and they hinder my ability to hear well. I need to listen better—and that probably means talking less.” - Chuck Lawless

“it was the spirit of honest inquiry, not polemical argumentation, that prompted me to write the article, inviting atheist readers to respond” - Michael Brown

“Most often, we grow by listening, not by talking. Consider nine ways to become a better listener.” - TGC

“We speed past the questions that would help us get to know another person’s story and instead immediately look to the places of greatest difference and disagreement.” - Denison Forum