Speaking comes by nature, silence by understanding.
—German Proverb
A man does not know what he is saying until he knows what he is not saying.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve said.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
He who knows little knows enough if he knows how to hold is tongue.
—Italian Proverb
Stay at home in your mind. Don’t recite other people’s opinions. I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Two great talkers will not travel far together.
—Spanish Proverb
All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
To climb a tree to catch a fish is talking much and doing nothing.
—Chinese Proverb
Great is our admiration of the orator who speaks with fluency and discretion.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
I do not speak of what I cannot praise.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
An orator is a good man who is skilled in speaking.
—Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato) (234–149 BCE) Roman Statesman
Talk is cheap, except when Congress does it.
—Cullen Hightower (b.1923) American Humorist
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The relationship of the toastmaster to the speaker should be the same as that of the fan to the fan dancer. It should call attention to the subject without making any particular effort to cover it.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
Be interesting, be enthusiastic… and don’t talk to much.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
Be ever on your guard what you say of anybody and to whom.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
Get out of here and leave me alone. Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough already.
—Karl Marx (1818–1883) German Philosopher, Economist
All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
A good speaker makes a good liar.
—German Proverb
Do you wish people to think well of you?. Don’t speak well of yourself.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care.
—William Safire (1929–2009) American Columnist, Journalist, Author, Speechwriter
The first evil those who are prone to talk suffer, is that they hear nothing.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
Never rise to speak till you have something to say; and when you have said it, cease.
—John Witherspoon (1723–94) Scottish-American Presbyterian Theologian
And ’tis remarkable that they talk most who have the least to say.
—Matthew Prior (1664–1721) English Poet, Diplomat
I didn’t say the things I said.
—Yogi Berra (1925–2015) American Sportsperson
I would rather be guilty of talking over a person’s head than behind his back.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
Nature, which gave us two eyes to see and two ears to hear, has given us but one tongue to speak.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
I sometimes marvel at the extraordinary docility with which Americans submit to speeches.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
Some people approach every problem with an open mouth.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
A man who has the courage of his platitudes is always a successful man. The instructed man is ashamed to pronounce in an orphic manner what everybody knows, and because he is silent people think he is making fun of them. They like a man who expresses their own superficial thoughts in a manner that appears to be profound. This enables them to feel that they are themselves profound.
—Van Wyck Brooks (1886–1963) American Literary Critic, Biographer, Historian
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak..
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
One anecdote of a man is worth a volume of biography.
—William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) American Unitarian Theologian, Poet
A good orator is pointed and impassioned.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
The short words are best, and the old words are the best of all.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
I never let my subject get in the way of what I want to talk about.
—Mark Victor Hansen (b.1948) American Public Speaker, Motivational Speaker, Writer
Every man is born with the faculty of reason and the faculty of speech, but why should he be able to speak before he has anything to say?
—Benjamin Whichcote (1609–83) British Anglican Priest, Theologian, Philosopher
If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time; a tremendous whack.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.
—Spanish Proverb
When at a loss how to go on, cough.
—Greek Proverb
A smart person knows what to say, a wise person knows whether or not to say it.
—Unknown
He who does not say too much has too much to say.
—Unknown
Talking and eloquence are not the same.—To speak and to speak well are two things.—A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
A speech should not just be a sharing of information, but a sharing of yourself.
—Ralph Archbold (1942–2017) American Actor, Impersonator
The words of tongue should have three gate keepers.
—Arabic Proverb
Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words.
—Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) Dutch Philosopher, Theologian