Image via WikipediaJoanna Young had a wonderful idea recently when she wrote a post in appreciation of silent readers. It was such a good idea that I decided to steal it.
With all the emphasis on conversation, commenting, Twittering, and the like, social media could use some quiet time. Thank goodness for people who use words judiciously, who speak only when have something to say.
If you are a silent reader of Word Sell, I do appreciate your being here. I’m glad you find this space worthy of your time, which is definitely valuable and probably limited. If the spirit every moves you to comment, fantastic. If not, equally fantastic. Just having you here is enough for me.
I’ve always had great admiration for people who know how to hold their tongue. (It’s a skill that would have come in handy at various watershed moments in my career.) Those who speak infrequently are listened to all the more carefully on those occasions when they decide to share their thoughts.
Famous Quotes about Silence
Silence is golden. (Ancient proverb)
Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. (Cicero)
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. (Abraham Lincoln)
Let us be silent, that we we may hear the whispers of the gods. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. (Hellen Keller)
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls. (Mother Theresa)
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The quote collection is great, of course. (Anything from Helen Keller or Mr. Lincoln is going to be good.) But I’m still chuckling at myself because, when I hear “silent reader,” the first thing I think about is someone who reads with their mouth shut! You know, as opposed to the other kids in kindergarten who were reading to themselves by reading out loud?
–Debs last blog post..MM: Fontastic
Brad,
The quotes you’ve listed have inspired me to compose a quote of my own:
To listen one must be silent. And, for real communication to occur, this should generally happen at least half the time.
What a great idea to follow Joanna’s lead and pay tribute to your silent readers! As bloggers, we do need to recognize the important contribution made by those who stop by to simply “listen” to all that we have to say!
Wonderful post!
Jeanne
Brad, what a fabulous collection of quotes. I’m going to do some borrowing back I think
I particularly like the Cicero quote. It fits with what we like to say about blogging and social media – that it’s conversational… but maybe we need to remember the quiet times and the listening too.
Joanna Youngs last blog post..October Theme: Writing With Responsibility
Jeanne, That’s a wonderful quote and I may have to borrow it.
Joanna, Borrow all you want. You couldn’t ask for a better teacher of communication than Cicero.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Thank You, Silent Readers
Borrow away, Brad! I’d be honored to have you use it.
Brad, this is a lovely tribute to those that read but do not comment. I also love the collection of quotes about silence. Far too often we seek to fill the space with words but the greatest lessons in my life have occurred when my mouth was closed. You are so right that in blogging we put such emphasis on talking but I have come to understand that the comments and RSS numbers are such a small part of the story. Many are listening, and are moved by our words. For me, it fills me with a greater responsibility for what I say and I how I say it for I may never know the impact of my words.
Karen Swims last blog post..3 Reasons Why Purpose is Essential in Business
Hi Karen, Those are noble sentiments. Bloggers who share your outlook more than likely wind up with more comments and better RSS numbers anyway.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Thank You, Silent Readers
Brad,
Thanks for sharing the ride home with me the other day. It was good to reconnect, not on a business level, but a personal level. There was no silence the entire ride. A great break from the daily tunnel vision of our professional lives talking about baseball, the economy politics and Boston. All good stuff.
Now back to work.
TJ
TJ, Thank you for the lift – it was great fun. I need to get back to work AND watch the White Sox. Don’t know if my heart can take it!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Thank You, Silent Readers
As a blogger, I think we all enjoy getting comments. But yeah, definitely, I do know the value of having silent readers. I myself tend to be relatively silent on other people’s blogs, for a number of reasons. So yeah, it’s nice to see people giving tribute to the silent readers – I probably should do the same, I’ve got lots of silent readers, I think.
Derrick Kwas last blog post..The Most Important Factor of Your Personal Network
Derrick, I never gave the matter much thought until Joanna’s post, and then in hit me – this is important.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Thank You, Silent Readers
Karen – great point, which fits beautifully with my exploration of responsibility this month – thank you!
“the comments and RSS numbers are such a small part of the story. Many are listening, and are moved by our words. For me, it fills me with a greater responsibility for what I say and I how I say it for I may never know the impact of my words.”
Joanna Youngs last blog post..October Theme: Writing With Responsibility
Great quotes Brad. It’s great to remember those silent readers sometimes. I find it all too easy to forget that there’s thousands of folk reading that don’t comment. And it’s something we’ve really got to bear in mind when we’re writing.
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