Public Speaking Quotes
Top 20 Public Speaking Quotes
No 1 (Best quote!)
Be sincere, be brief, be seated.
(advice on public speaking)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
American president, pictured right
No 2
Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it
hot.
- D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), pictured right, English writer.
No 3
It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.
- Mark Twain (1835-1910), American writer, pictured right.
No 4
The mouth speaks what the heart is full of,
(Matthew 12:24)
- Jesus (c4 BC-c30 AD), founder
of Christianity
No 5
No one can speak, unless he thoroughly understands his subject.
- Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman
philosopher and politician, pictured right.
Another Roman politician, Cato the Elder (234-149 BC), pictured right, agrees:
Grasp the subject, the words will follow.
No 6
The truth is always the strongest argument.
- Sophocles (496-406 BC), Greek playwright, pictured right.
No 7
The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions.
- Confucius (551-479 BC) Chinese
philosopher, pictured right.
No 8
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
- Mark Twain (1835-1910), American writer, pictured right.
The great English actor Ralph Richardson (1902-83), pictured right, agrees:
The most precious things in speech are pauses
No 9
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
(Claudius in Hamlet)
- William
Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright, pictured
right.
No 10
The first necessity for good speaking is a large audience.
- Anthony Trollope 1815–82 English writer, pictured right.
No 11
Preach not because you have to say something, but because you have something to say.
- Richard Whately (1787–1863), English philosopher and theologian, pictured right.
No 12
What can be said at all can be said clearly.
- Ludwig
Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-born British philosopher, pictured right.
No 13
The wise speak only of what they know
(Gandalf in The Lord of the
Rings)
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), pictured right, British writer.
No 14
A word spoken in due season, how good it is.
(Proverbs 15:23)
- the Bible.
No 15
Only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on the memory of the crowd,
- Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), pictured right,
German leader.
No 16
When you have nothing to say, say nothing.
- Charles Caleb Colton (c1780–1832) English writer, pictured right.
No 17
There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it.
- William James (1842–1910)
American philosopher, pictured right.
No 18
Before I speak, I have something important to say,
Groucho Marx (1890-1977), the American comedian and film and TV star, pictured right.
No 19
Words are words. I never did hear that the bruised heart was pierced through the ear,
(Brabantio in Othello)
- William
Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright, pictured
right.
No 20
There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.
- Mark Twain (1835-1910), American writer, pictured right.
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