The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
Dale CarnegieIn making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech.
AristotleIf one could only teach the English how to talk, and the Irish how to listen, society here would be quite civilized.
Oscar WildeThe greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world… to see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion all in one.
John RuskinAlways try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
C. S. LewisI have learned to interface – what I think would be the contemporary term – with various different lexicons, and people speak very different languages. I’ve learned to speak in a lot of tongues, and I can live with the bellicose language of some fervent, fire-breathing Christians, sure.
BonoI used to tell my husband that, if he could make me ‚understand‘ something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country.
Eleanor RooseveltBrevity and conciseness are the parents of correction.
Hosea BallouI’m not a person that socializes very well.
Paulo CoelhoBe as polite to the custodian as you are to the chairman of the board.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.There are some who speak well and write badly. For the place and the audience warm them, and draw from their minds more than they think of without that warmth.
Blaise PascalThe idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.
Maya AngelouI try to speak in a way that people can understand.
John KennedySo when I speak in front of thousands, tens of thousands of people, I don’t really get nervous because I know what I want to say and I know what message I want to give.
Greta ThunbergHow can a president not be an actor?
Ronald ReaganTruth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.
Isaac NewtonWomen have to be active listeners and interrupters – but when you interrupt, you have to know what you are talking about.
Madeleine AlbrightWrite in such a way as that you can be readily understood by both the young and the old, by men as well as women, even by children.
Ho Chi MinhBefore I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.
Ronald ReaganThe figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom… in a clarification of life – not necessarily a great clarification, such as sects and cults are founded on, but in a momentary stay against confusion.
Robert FrostA man may speak very well in the House of Commons, and fail very completely in the House of Lords. There are two distinct styles requisite: I intend, in the course of my career, if I have time, to give a specimen of both.
Benjamin DisraeliA master performer like Bill Clinton never lost sight of the fact that as president he had to project confidence and power, but if he was speaking to a group of autoworkers he would adjust his accent and his words to fit the audience, and do the same for a group of executives.
Robert GreeneI could never give relationship advice to anybody!
RihannaYou can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
Dale CarnegieWhen you meet with someone and you try to assess whether they’re telling you the truth or not, there’s several things you can do. You judge demeanor and credibility. You look at corroboration.
John KennedyShort words are best and the old words when short are best of all.
Winston ChurchillWhen things haven’t gone well for you, call in a secretary or a staff man and chew him out. You will sleep better and they will appreciate the attention.
Lyndon B. JohnsonMany people find the universe confusing – it’s not.
Stephen HawkingGood leaders must communicate vision clearly, creatively, and continually. However, the vision doesn’t come alive until the leader models it.
John C. MaxwellConflict cannot survive without your participation.
Wayne DyerI thought my life was mapped out. Research, living in the forest, teaching and writing. But in ’86 I went to a conference and realised the chimpanzees were disappearing. I had worldwide recognition and a gift of communication. I had to use them.
Jane GoodallAlways prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
C. S. LewisEverything is clearer when you’re in love.
John LennonTake advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.
Jim RohnNo one ever doubts that I mean what I say. The problem is I sometimes say all that I mean.
Joe BidenThe absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
Henry KissingerGood writing is like a windowpane.
George OrwellIn one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed.
Edgar Allan PoeNever be so brief as to become obscure.
Hosea BallouThose who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.
Albert CamusSuit the action to the word, the word to the action.
William ShakespeareWe would like a stable policy framework, and whatever incentives and tax structures are there should be made known to investors upfront. There should be credibility, clarity and continuity in both policy formulation and its implementation.
Narendra ModiResist the need to be ‚right‘ all the time or to always have the last word.
Joyce MeyerLet us be absolutely clear about one thing: we must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.
Paulo CoelhoExtemporaneous speaking should be practiced and cultivated. It is the lawyer’s avenue to the public. However able and faithful he may be in other respects, people are slow to bring him business if he cannot make a speech.
Abraham LincolnYou can disagree without being disagreeable.
Ruth Bader GinsburgMastery, I learned, was not something genetic, or for a lucky few. It is something we can all attain if get rid of some misconceptions and gain clarity as to the required path.
Robert GreeneI really think that there was a great advantage in many ways to being a woman. I think we are a lot better at personal relationships, and then have the capability obviously of telling it like it is when it’s necessary.
Madeleine AlbrightIn retrospect, I can see I couldn’t talk to people face to face, so I got on stage and started screaming and squealing and twitching about. Ha! Like, that sure made sense!
David ByrneOnly the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.
Dale CarnegieI have been – I have spoken in Bir Zeit a number of times.
Noam ChomskyTalkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty.
Thomas SowellI’m not confused. I’m just well mixed.
Robert FrostIt’s a rather rude gesture, but at least it’s clear what you mean.
Katharine HepburnOn the whole, we think of our consumers – other judges, lawyers, the public. The law that the Supreme Court establishes is the law that they must live by, so all things considered, it’s better to have it clearer than confusing.
Ruth Bader GinsburgAlthough our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.
Carl von ClausewitzThe most important thing for a director is being able to communicate.
Kevin HartPart of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we’re hardwired not to always think clearly when we’re scared. And the country’s scared.
Barack ObamaAlways remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion.
Robert GreeneCan the mind see the truth of its own incapacity to know the unknown? Surely if I see very clearly that my mind cannot know the unknown, there is absolute quietness.
Jiddu Krishnamurti