Quotes about Conversation

Old boys chatting

It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a man’s conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him. Richard Steele

A gossip is one who talks to you about others, a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.  Lisa Kirk

Conversation is a fair for the display of the minor mental commodities, each exhibitor being too intent upon the arrangement of his own wares to observe those of his neighbor. Ambrose Bierce 

Argument is the worst sort of conversation.  Jonathan Swift

Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man. Benjamin Franklin

Never speak of yourself to others; make them talk about themselves instead; therein lies the whole art of pleasing. Everyone knows it and everyone forgets it. Edmond and Jules De Concourt 

The art of conversation, or the qualification for a good companion, is a certain self-control, which now holds the subject, now lets it go, with a respect for the emergencies of the moment. Emerson

No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation.  Fran Lebowitz

At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer.  Marshall Lumsden

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

It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either.  Mark Twain

The success of conversation consists less in being witty than is bringing out wit in others; the man who leaves after talking with you, pleased with himself and his own wit, is perfectly pleased with you. LA Bruyere 

It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.  Mark Twain

Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts.  Voltaire

When all other means of communication fail, try words. Denis Clifford

Political speeches are like steer horns; a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between.  Harvey Kurtzman 

To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation. LA Rochefoucauld 

The more time and energy you put into preparing a meal the greater the chance you guests will spend the entire meal discussing other meals they have had. Murphy’s Law

We do not talk; we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of, newspaper, magazines, and digests. Henry Miller

In conversation discretion is more important than eloquence. Baltasar Gracian 

Any child who chatters non-stop at home will adamantly refuse to utter a word when requested to demonstrate for an audience. Murphy’s Law

The more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation. John Yates 

Anything is possible if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Francis Wilkins 

While a transcendent vocabulary is laudable, one must be eternally careful so that the calculated objective of communication does not become ensconced in obscurity. In other words, eschew obfuscation. Benny Tillman 

The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard. William Hazlitt 

How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state.  Plato

That woman speaks eight languages and can’t say “no” in any of them. Dorothy Parker

The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it.  George Bernard Shaw

Mathematics is the only science where one never knows what one is talking about nor whether what is said is true. Bertrand Russell

It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought. Agnes Repplier

One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening.  Franklin P Jones

A free conversation will no more bear a dictator than a free government will. Lord Chesterfield 

Talking about music is like dancing about architecture. Thomas Henry

The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased area of misunderstanding. Thomas Martin

The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the number of participants.  Adam Walinsky

Whoever interrupts the conversation of others to make a display of his fund of knowledge, makes notorious his own stock of ignorance. Sadi 

Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.  Friedrich Nietzsche

Private, accidental, confidential conversation breeds thought. Clubs produce oftener words. Emerson

Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?  Clarence Darrow

God gave man two ears and one tongue so that we listen twice as much as we speak. Beatrice Logan 

The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting. Fran Lebowitz

Conceit causes more conversation than wit.  La Rochefoucauld

I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation.  George Bernard Shaw

There’s no sense in being precise when you don’t even know what you’re talking about. John Von Neumann

Talk ought always to run obliquely, not nose to nose with no chance of mental escape. Frank Moore Colby 

The only proper intoxication is conversation.  Oscar Wilde

We seldom repent talking too little, but very often talking too much. Jean De la Bruyere