Thomas Jefferson

When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, one hundred.

Topic: Communication, Public Speaking, Speech
Location: Lake Tahoe
Photo: Jeffrey Benjamin

More Quotes from Thomas Jefferson

I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.

› Thomas Jefferson

Conflict

Character Habits Honesty Truth

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. — Thomas Jefferson

Character Honor Leadership Principle

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. — Thomas Jefferson

Freedom Liberty

That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves. — Thomas Jefferson

Discipline Freedom Liberty Society

I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. — Thomas Jefferson

Freedom Society

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. — Thomas Jefferson

Freedom Liberty

Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.

› Thomas Jefferson

Freedom Happiness Health

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

› Thomas Jefferson

Accountability Responsibility Self

More Quotes from Lake Tahoe

Everything you can imagine is real. — Pablo Picasso

Imagination

We will not have failure—only success and new learning. — Queen Victoria

Failure Learning Success

Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future. — Walt Disney

Business Change Time Vision

I will be the pattern of all patience. — William Shakespeare

Consistent Patience

Trade your expectations for appreciation, and your whole world changes instantly. — Tony Robbins

Appreciation Change Expectations

More on These Topics

Communication

The empty vessel makes the greatest sound. — William Shakespeare

Character Communication Leadership Reputation

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.

› Plutarch

Communication Listening Speech

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. — Mark Twain

Communication Public Speaking

On his tongue they pour sweet dew, and from his mouth flow gentle words.

› Hesiod

Communication

To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing. — Mark Twain

Communication

It takes two to speak the truth—one to speak and another to hear. — Henry David Thoreau

Communication Listening Truth

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

› Nelson Mandela

Communication Honor Perception

Compliment more than you criticize. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Appreciation Communication Criticism

I was gratified to be able to answer promptly. I said I didn’t know. — Mark Twain

Communication Honesty

Flattery is the best persuader of people. — Japanese Proverb

Appreciation Communication Persuasion

I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. — Publilius Syrus

Communication Listening Speech

Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage. — Publilius Syrus

Communication Listening Wisdom

Talk can get you there, but action will embrace. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Action Communication

Making promises you can't or won't keep is an effective way to dissolve relationships. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Commitment Communication

Nodding the head does not row the boat. — Irish Proverb

Action Communication Leadership

I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice. — William Shakespeare

Communication Listening Speech

Never bend your head, always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face. — Helen Keller

Choice Communication Confidence

Truth is generally the best vindication against slander. — Abraham Lincoln

Communication Reputation Truth

Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word. — William Shakespeare

Action Communication

Think before you speak; pronounce not imperfectly, nor bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and distinctly. — George Washington

Communication

Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.

› Marie von Ebner Eschenbach

Communication Conflict

Saying is one thing and doing is another. — Michel de Montaigne

Action Communication Leadership Speech

I meant what I said and I said what I meant. — Dr. Seuss

Belief Communication Conviction Honesty

Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. — Aristotle

Communication Persuasion Public Speaking Speech

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere. — Lee Iacocca

Communication Confidence Public Speaking Speech

The music that can deepest reach and cure all ill, is cordial speech. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Communication Conflict Public Speaking Speech

Brevity is the soul of wit. — William Shakespeare

Communication Public Speaking Speech

It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure. — Horace

Communication Public Speaking Speech

We cannot have expression till there is something to be expressed. — Margaret Fuller

Communication Public Speaking Speech

Give thy thoughts no tongue. — William Shakespeare

Communication Listening Public Speaking Solitude Speech Thinking

A poet can survive everything but a misprint. — Oscar Wilde

Integrity Mistakes Public Speaking Speech

Don't raise your voice, improve your argument. — Desmond Tutu

Communication Conflict Listening Negotiation Persuasion Public Speaking

Be not careless in your deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought. — Marcus Aurelius

Action Communication Public Speaking Speech Thinking

Fear will either control you or set you free. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Courage Fear Freedom Public Speaking

Mend your speech a little, Lest you may mar your fortunes. — William Shakespeare

Communication Public Speaking Speech Wisdom

I never met a speaker more important than a listener. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Leadership Listening Public Speaking Speech

People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint.

› Steve Jobs

Communication Public Speaking Speech

Before I speak, I have something important to say. — Groucho Marx

Communication Public Speaking Speech

We know how to speak many falsehoods which resemble real things, but we know, when we will, how to speak true things.

› Hesiod

Public Speaking Speech Truth

Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a style. — Jonathan Swift

Communication Public Speaking Speech

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. — Coco Chanel

Courage Public Speaking Self Self-esteem Thinking

Understanding a question is half an answer.

› Socrates

Communication Listening Public Speaking Speech Thinking

A scared thing is timely silence, and better than any speech. — Plutarch

Public Speaking Speech

Speak, hands, for me! — William Shakespeare

Communication Public Speaking

When another speaks, be attentive yourself, and disturb not the audience. — George Washington

Communication Listening Public Speaking

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave. — Dale Carnegie

Communication Practice Public Speaking Speech

A wise man fills his brains before emptying his mouth. — Kenyan Proverb

Knowledge Public Speaking Speech Wisdom

Let no one be willing to speak ill of the absent. — Sextus Propertius

Communication Criticism Speech

If we tried to sink the past beneath our feet, be sure the future would not stand. — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Freedom Liberty Society Speech

The right to free speech is more important than the content of the speech.

› Voltaire

Freedom Society Speech

Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. — Francis Bacon

Communication Knowledge Learning Speech

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

› Napoleon Hill

Failure Persuasion Speech Success

Think before thou speakest. — Miguel de Cervantes

Speech Thinking

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. — Winston Churchill

Courage Listening Public Speaking Speech

Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burned women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.

› Louis Dembitz Brandeis

Fear Freedom Liberty Speech

Oh, I offended you with my opinion? You should hear the the ones I keep to myself.

› Patsy Cline

Character Self Speech

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire

Freedom Liberty Respect Speech

It hurteth not the tongue to give fair words. — John Heywood

Communication Speech

Have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest. — William Shakespeare

Communication Speech

A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

› John Adams

Freedom Liberty Speech

Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. — Frederick Douglass

Freedom Liberty Speech

A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself talk, and will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month. — William Shakespeare

Communication Listening Speech

Public speaking is a skill you get great at, just like anything else, with practice. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Practice Public Speaking Speech Work

All speech is vain and empty unless it be accompanied by action. — Demosthenes

Action Speech Work

Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Communication Learning Speech

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone says in a whole book—what everyone else does not say in a whole book. — Friedrich Nietzsche

Communication Speech

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. — George Washington

Freedom Speech

How long a time lies in one little word! — William Shakespeare

Communication Speech Time

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

› Mark Twain

Freedom Speech

When a person speaks listen to their actions. — Jeffrey Benjamin

Action Listening Speech

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably gracious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

› Mark Twain

Freedom Speech