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The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed.

Alan Alda

But often it’s a mechanical transformation, which isn’t as interesting, and you’ve got to be careful how you go about something like that, I think.
ALAN ALDA

Careful Internet Like Mechanical Often Something Transformation
I was a child, and my mother was psychotic. She loved me, but I didn’t really feel I had a mother. And when you live with somebody who is paranoid and thinks you’re trying to kill them all the time, you tend to feel a little betrayed.
ALAN ALDA

Betray Child Feel Kill Live Love Mother Paranoid Psychotic Something
Insanity is just a state of mind.
ALAN ALDA

Instant Just Mind State
People who laugh together generally don’t kill each other.
ALAN ALDA

Each Kill Laugh Other People Together
When I’m willing to let them change me, something happens between us that’s more interesting than a pair of dueling monologues.
ALAN ALDA

Change Duet Happen Interest More Pair Something Willing
How can I ever hope to communicate something to you unless I get signals back from you that I’m on the right track or that I’ve started at some place that you’re familiar with?
ALAN ALDA

Back Communicate Familiar Home Right Signal Something Start Track
Kids are natural scientists.
ALAN ALDA

Kid Natural Scientist
Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking about listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.
ALAN ALDA

Change Eventually Found Listen Radical Think Willingness
But if you consider how abnormal their behavior is, then you are led to the hypothesis that almost all men are suffering from ‘testosterone poisoning.’
ALAN ALDA

Abnormal Almost Hypothesis led Poison Suffer Testosterone
This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people’s holding beliefs other than their own?
ALAN ALDA

Belief Hold Human Own People Press Question Worry
A taste; a painful longing. but the net is always too porous, and we are left with the sweet frustration of almost knowing, which is teasingly pleasurable.
ALAN ALDA

Almost Frustration Know Long Painful Pleasurable Sweet Teasingly
Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been.
ALAN ALDA

Brave Creative Else Enough Life Place
Republicans are as capable of coming up with great ideas and moving this country along as anyone – they just don’t do it.
ALAN ALDA

Anymore Capable Come Country Great Idea Republican
I have thought about punching people out. Sometimes, I’ve thought, ‘Why don’t I just act on that impulse?’ But then, I’ve never hit anybody in anger. Hey! I’ve never hit anybody for fun.
ALAN ALDA

Act Impulse Nobody People Punch Something
Don’t be upset that it takes a long, long time to find wisdom because nobody knows where wisdom can be found.
ALAN ALDA

Found Long Take Time Upset Wisdom
I’m very interested in the improvisation because one of the things I do is to help train scientists to communicate in a better way and more personal way when they’re making a presentation, and I use improvisation to do that.
ALAN ALDA

Better Communicate Improvisation Interest One Personal Presentation Scientist Thing Train Use Way

The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed.

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The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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