The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”

― Leo Tolstoy

One of the reasons that storytelling is so powerful is that it honors the listener’s intellect, which creates a participatory relationship wherein the listener begins to own the parts of the story filled in by his or her imagination. A good story invites the listener to personally discover the connection between actions and consequences. A good story invites the listener to scrutinize information, make guesses, and imagine outcomes. A good story triggers empathy and emotions.

— Andrew Maxfield, Director of the Influencer Institute
— (Quote found by Brenda)

The role of listeners has never been fully appreciated. However, it is well known that most people don’t listen. They use the time when someone else is speaking to think of what they’re going to say next. True Listeners have always been revered among oral cultures, and prized for their rarity value; bards and poets are ten a cow, but a good Listener is hard to find, or at least hard to find twice.

— Terry Pratchett, Pyramids
— (Quote found by Sandy)