Many attempts to communicate
are nullified by saying too much.
Nothing is as frustrating
as arguing with someone
who knows what he’s talking about.
If you were going to die soon
and had only one phone call to make,
who would you call and what would you say?
And why are you waiting?
We have two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
Ten people who speak make more noise
than ten thousand who are silent.
A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he gets to know something.
Isn’t it surprising how many things,
if not said immediately,
seem not worth saying
ten minutes from now?
Of those who say nothing,
few are silent.
When you say Yes, say it quickly.
But always take a half hour to say No,
so you can understand
the other fellow’s side.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.
Well-timed silence
hath more eloquence than speech.
He who thinks by the inch
and talks by the yard
deserves to be kicked by the foot.
The words you speak today
should be soft and tender…
for tomorrow
you may have to eat them.
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing,
a creative force.
When we really listen to people
there is an alternating current,
and this recharges us so that
we never get tired of each other.
We are constantly being re-created.
There is nothing so annoying
as to have two people talking
when you’re busy interrupting.
Tact is the ability to describe others
as they see themselves.
Speak when you are angry
and you will make the best speech
you will ever regret.
When angry, count to ten before you speak;
if very angry, a hundred.
I argue very well.
Ask any of my remaining friends.
I can win an argument on any topic,
against any opponent.
People know this,
and steer clear of me at parties.
Often, as a sign of their great respect,
they don’t even invite me.
Never ruin an apology with an excuse.