Excel in the Art of Persuasion Quotes
The best persuaders do more listening than talking. Help enough people get what they want and you will rarely lack for what you want. This Influence path holds history's smartest quotes on persuasion and negotiation. Scroll through and put them to work.
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“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.”
“When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”
“The one who asks the questions controls the conversation.”
“I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions, they will be moved to act”
“The greatest management principle in the world is this: the things that get rewarded and appreciated get done.”
“Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.”
“If you don't ask, the answer is always no.”
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
“Negotiation is not an act of battle; it's a process of discovery.”
“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful.”
“Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.”
“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”
“'No' is the start of the negotiation, not the end of it.”
“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”
“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”
“The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.”
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
“The art of persuasion consists as much in that of pleasing as in that of convincing.”
“The most powerful person in a negotiation is the one who is willing to walk away.”
“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.”
“Selling is not a pushy, winner-takes-all, macho act. It is an empathy-led, process-driven, and knowledge-intensive discipline. Because, in the end, people buy from people.”
“Powerful people impress others with their silence, not with their words.”
“If it isn't in writing, it didn't happen.”
“Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.”
“Silence is sometimes the best answer.”
“The best way to persuade people is with your ears - by listening to them.”
“Tact is making a point without making an enemy.”
“If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.”
“We awaken in others the same attitude of mind we hold toward them.”
“If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.”
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
“When one side benefits more than the other, that's a win-lose situation. To the winner it might look like success for a while, but in the long run, it breeds resentment and distrust.”
“The reason you negotiate is to produce something better than the results you can obtain without negotiating.”
“In business, you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”
“The most powerful voice often whispers.”
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
“If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive.”
“If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.”
“In a negotiation, he who speaks first loses.”
“Persuasion is often more effectual than force.”
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”
“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
“There is only one way to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.”
“The person across the table is never the problem. The unsolved issue is.”
“Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers.”
“Speak to a man about himself and he will listen for hours.”
“There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”
