[boop]

This is very true. I have repeatedly been called a great communicator which surprises me as I find in group conversations I tend to listen 70% of the time and talk only 30% of the time. I believe because I talk less, more weight is given to what I say. Also, because I talk less, I choose my words wisely instead of just blurting out anything that comes to mind.

[swombat]

Talking 1/3 of the time seems like exactly the right proportion. See this article, also by my dad:

http://wisdom.tenner.org/1/post/2011/07/the-small-wheel-list...

Ultra-condensed summary: if you want people to pay attention to what you say, spend 1/3 of the time listening with your mouth shut, 1/3 rephrasing and asking clarifying questions to make sure that you've understood, and only after that, spend 1/3 of the time actually saying things (which now have a chance of being listened to...).

[troymc]

It seems to me that the optimal percentage of time to spend listening should depend on the number of people in the meeting.

[5hoom]

My dad had a saying, "you have two ears & one mouth. Use them in that proportion".

[AndyJPartridge]

Indeed.

We have two ears, and one mouth. 70/30%

[nanospider]

It's actually 66.67% and 33.33%.