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Communication Quotes
"Unlike then, the mail stream of today has diminished by such things as e-mails and faxes and cell phones and text messages, largely electronic means of communication that replace mail."
27
"More of your conversation would infect my brain."
27
"The next time, you say that you want something, watch your behavior. If you try to cop out of doing what it takes, if you hide behind excuses, if you just don't want to do what it takes then perhaps reconsider: Is what you think you want actually something that you do in fact want?"
27
"My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences."
27
"Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!"
27
"I slept for four years. I didn't study much of anything. I majored in something called communication arts."
26
"Unsolicited advice is usually more about the needs of the giver than the receiver."
26
"The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard."
26
"A key to healthy problem solving is good communication."
26
"To: Anna Oliphant
From: Étienne St. Clair
Subject: So . . . Does that mean I can call you now?"
26
"I have a million things to talk to you about. All I want in this world is you. I want to see you and talk. I want the two of us to begin everything from the beginning."
25
"We don't communicate in full sentences anyway. We don't need all those words."
25
"There is a difference between truly listening and waiting for your turn to talk."
25
"As human being, we live in a perpetual conversation between conversation and violence; what apart from fundamental willingness to be reasonable, can guarantee that we will keep talking to one another?"
25
"We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."
25
"Telling someone something he does not understand is pointless, even if you add that he will not be able to understand it."
25
"By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote."
24
"I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow."
24
"Say what you have to say in the fewest possible words."
23
"Sometimes language can't even read the music of meaning."
23
"For even the best err in words when they are meant to mean most delicate and almost inexpressible things."
22
"You can present the material, but you can't make me care."
22
"But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?"
22
"It frequently happens that two persons, reasoning right on a mechanical subject, think alike and invent the same thing without any communication with each other."
22
"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."
22
"From what you didn't say, lies that you did say."
22
"Without language, they have no lies. Thus they have no future."
22
"Words... They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good any more... I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you when you're dead."
21
"The fun of talk is to explore, but much of it and all that is irresponsible should not be written. Once written you have to stand by it. You may have said it to see whether you believed it or not."
21
"The gift of words is the gift of deception and illusion."
21
"You are discovering the conversation that the customer wants to have, instead of the dreadfully limiting presentation you would have given him. And in doing so, you can help him to make a truly wonderful buying decision."
21
"Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong."
21
"For an Italian peasant a telegram from anywhere is a wondrous thing; and a cable from the terrestrial paradise of America is not lightly to be disregarded."
21
"But I hasten to finish my story. Brevity is justified at once to those who readily understand, and to those who will never understand."
21
"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact."
21
"There is a world of communication which is not dependent on words."
21
"Will was not without his intentions to be always generous, but our tongues are little triggers which have usually been pulled before general intentions can be brought to bear."
21
"I don't speak, I operate a machine called language. It creaks and groans, but is mine own."
20
"In the event of a communication breakdown, decide whether you will dwell in the negative or rise above the angst and turmoil in a firm, positive manner and encourage all parties to listen and be heard."
20
"I'd come to realize that all our troubles spring from our failure to use plain, clear-cut language."
20
"Words are the wellspring of the world, and language is the most powerful weapon in the ancient and still unfolding war between truth and lies."
20
"I'll listen if you want me to... But I think I should tell you now that nothing you can say will make any difference. If you don't mind that, I don't mind listening."
20
"I love words. I thank you for hearing my words. I want to tell you something about words that I think is important. Words are my work, they're my play. They're my passion. Words are all we have really. We have thoughts, but thoughts are fluid. And, then we assign a word to a thought and we're stuck with that word for that thought. So be careful with words. The same words that hurt can heal."
20
"As I'm sure you know, there are two types of "What?" in the world. The first type simply means "Excuse me, I didn't hear you. Could you please repeat yourself?" The second type is a little trickier. It means something more along the lines of "Excuse me, I did hear you, but I can't believe that's really what you meant."
20
"Is that right? she murmured."
20
"Pose your questions to people and you will get countless useless answers."
20
"Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions."
20
"A word of kindness is seldom spoken in vain, while witty sayings are as easily lost as the pearls slipping from a broken string."
20
"When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say."
19
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