Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.
Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.
Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
A person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Talk to someone about themselves and they'll listen for hours.
There is a natural human tendency to dislike a person who brings us unpleasant information, even when that person did not cause the bad news.
The mind, as a defense against the volume of today's communications, screens and rejects much of the information offered to it. In general, the mind accepts only that which matches prior knowledge or experience.
Don't bargain over positions. Separate the people from the problem.
He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of negotiation.
'No' is the start of the negotiation, not the end of it.
The most basic way to get someone's attention is this: Break a pattern.
To make our communications more effective, we need to shift our thinking from 'What information do I need to convey?' to 'What questions do I want my audience to ask?'
Stories are like flight simulators for the brain.
Radical Candor is humble, it's helpful, it's immediate, it's in person — in private if it's criticism and in public if it's praise — and it doesn't personalize.
It's not mean; it's clear. It's not nice; it's unclear.
Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.
In the middle of a crucial conversation, we tend to do the exact opposite of what works.
People who are skilled at dialogue do their best to make it safe for everyone to add their meaning to the shared pool.
The mistake most of us make in our crucial conversations is we believe that we have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend.
Everything you say to a person is filtered through their frame of reference, biases, and preconceived ideas.
The most common mistake in communication is to assume that the other person thinks the way you do.
Adapt your message to the listener, not to yourself.
Hospitality is a dialogue, not a monologue.
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
