A 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.

The duty of rhetoric is to deal with such matters as we deliberate upon without arts or systems to guide us, in the hearing of persons who cannot take in at a glance a complicated argument or follow a long chain of reasoning.

I can move any crowd.

Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable.

A career is born in public – talent in privacy.

Always remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion.

In the television age, the key distinction is between the candidate who can speak poetry and the one who can only speak prose.

Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.

The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.

Before finding music, I didn’t have too many aspirations. I wanted to hang out, make a little money from whatever I had to do.

One of the issues I kept saying to my students is you have to learn to interrupt. When you raise your hand at a meeting, by the time they get to you, the point is not germane. So the bottom line is active listening. If you are going to interrupt, you look for opportunities. You have to know what you’re talking about.

Over the years, all my coaches and my teammates have contributed a lot to shape my career. I can never forget their contribution and help.

I’ve always had to conquer fear when I’m on stage. Basically, I was and still am a very shy person. It’s absolutely in conflict with what I do. But once I deliver the first joke I’m okay. It’s like I’m out there all by myself just delivering my lines to nobody in particular without ever trying to notice the audience in front of me.

Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.

While still working for others, your goal at some point must be to carve out little areas that you can operate on your own, cultivating entrepreneurial skills.

I write all of my own speeches.

When you make as many speeches and you talk as much as I do and you get away from the text, it’s always a possibility to get a few words tangled here and there.

It’s really fun to be on stage in front of people.

I’m much more comfortable and confident running out on the field in front of 70,000 people instead of standing in front of a camera trying to say some lines. The people who do that as a profession are very talented because it’s certainly not easy.

Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.

Extemporaneous 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.

I don’t think there is a single social issue I haven’t spoken on.

So 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.

In my opinion, the only way to conquer stage fright is to get up on stage and play. Every time you play another show, it gets better and better.

In 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.

I hate interviews – but you have to do them.

I built a label at the same time I built a career.

I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.

I’m not very articulate.

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.

The mark of a true politician is that he is never at a loss for words because he is always half-expecting to be asked to make a speech.

Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.

The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.

If you don’t let people flourish in their jobs, why are they going to stay?

I couldn’t talk to people face to face, so I got on stage and started screaming and squealing and twitching.

When you walk out onstage in front of 65,000 people, it can bring you to tears.

Forty is when you actually begin even deserving to be on stage telling people what you think.

Transforming yourself into a deep listener will not only prove more amusing as you open your mind to their mind, but you will gain the most invaluable lessons about human psychology.

At first, I wasn’t really keen on the idea of me being on stage having to sing in front of people.

Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.

Read my lips: no new taxes.

The most important thing for a director is being able to communicate.

Facts are not liberals‘ strong suit. Rhetoric is.

When it comes to knowing what to say, to charm, I always had it.

I built a company at the same time I built a career.

When 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.

Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply.

When I talked to him on the phone yesterday. I called him George rather than Mr. Vice President. But, in public, it’s Mr. Vice President, because that is who he is.

Didn’t get promoted? Good. More time to get better.

Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of evry part of your life.

I don’t have any oratory skills. But I would not use them if I had.

I think that if I would talk on a political subject, if I talk about it, it would divide the audience on that issue. That’s not my issue.

There’s something about being in front of a live audience that’s fun. It’s a really interesting, very electric, very alive, and intense experience, and you can’t get it anywhere else. And I’ve been doing it since I was 23, so it’s part of my being – it’s part of my fabric as a person.

Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

A person standing in front of an audience without enthusiasm for his subject and his actions is disconnected from his spirit.

It’s very intense to be in front of a live audience. It’s just an amazing experience. It’s dangerous. Everything out there is heightened. The bad stuff is extra-worse. The silences are extra-silent. The good stuff is amazing. It’s electric when you walk out there. For 90 minutes, you’re on this other planet.

Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.

I go onstage and I talk, and I remember what I’m saying, and I track it.

The Four Levels of Comedy: Make your friends laugh, Make strangers laugh, Get paid to make strangers laugh, and Make people talk like you because it’s so much fun.

Talk low, talk slow and don’t say too much.