Many attempts to communicate
are nullified by saying too much.

— Robert Greenleaf

Nothing is as frustrating
as arguing with someone
who knows what he’s talking about.

— Sam Ewing

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?

— Stephen Levine

We have two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

— Epictetus

Ten people who speak make more noise
than ten thousand who are silent.

— Napoleon

A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he gets to know something.

— Wilson Mizner

Isn’t it surprising how many things,
if not said immediately,
seem not worth saying
ten minutes from now?

— Arnot L. Sheppard, Jr.

Of those who say nothing,
few are silent.

— Thomas Neil

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.

— Francis Cardinal Spellman

I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.

— Marshall McLuhan

Well-timed silence
hath more eloquence than speech.

— Martin Fraquhar Tupper

He who thinks by the inch
and talks by the yard
deserves to be kicked by the foot.

— unknown

The words you speak today
should be soft and tender…
for tomorrow
you may have to eat them.

— unknown

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.

— Brenda Ueland

There is nothing so annoying
as to have two people talking
when you’re busy interrupting.

— Mark Twain

Tact is the ability to describe others
as they see themselves. 

— Eleanor Chaffee

Speak when you are angry
and you will make the best speech
you will ever regret.

— Ambrose Bierce

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

— Thomas Jefferson

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.

— Dave Barry

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

— Kimberly Johnson