Judith Martin Quotes

People seem to think that you should be willing to speak to them whether they're jerks or not.

I tell my children, shut up and let me speak. What I've learned, I have been married for 45 years and in my own family It is that I've learned to stop being judgmental, to listen.

I'm practicing the discipline of not having to have the last word.

Listen more than you talk.

Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking.

Ask others about themselves, at the same time, be on guard not to talk too much about yourself.

Be slow to speak, and only after having first listened quietly, so that you may understand the meaning, leanings, and wishes of those who do speak. Thus you will better know when to speak and when to be silent.

My mother is a ball of fire in the world, and I love that about her. But what I have learned from my stepdad is something as important, which is patience and compassion. Because when you are living with someone else, those two qualities go a long way.

Listening is more important than talking. Just hit your mark and believe what you say. Just listen to people and react to what they are saying.

Sitting down for dinner not only helps you learn, but also teaches you how to listen - which I feel is the most important skill to have. I remember as a kid going around the table listening to everyone's day. It was hard to have the manners not to interrupt back then.

I'm not mean, just aggressive.

When I have an argument with someone, even with someone I am not very close with, I can't sleep at night thinking about it. It's terrible. But I still manage speak out frankly because I have also been gifted with the ability to read people. I can sense when they start to get irritated with me, and then, I shift.

I know I probably offend some people. I have been talking a little too much so I'm trying not to talk as much.

Sometimes, it's hard to separate manager mode from mom mode. I think, as our manager, my mom will get more emotional about situations than she would if she was just our manager.

It's so funny because when you're working with an acquaintance or someone else, you're being more polite. I find that I'm a little bit more of a brat when I'm in the studio with my dad, so I feel bad.

I often talk too much and don't listen enough.

A great mind will neither give an affront nor bear it.

Shigure: JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND, KYO! Kyo: SHUT UP! I HATE THIS! DO YOU REALLY GET THAT MUCH ENJOYMENT FROM PLAYING WITH PEOPLES' LIVES?! Shigure: Well, yes, now that you mention it, I do--BUT THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! Kyo: Man, your persuasion skills SUCK! Tohru: Um, welcome home. Dinner's- Kyo: NOT HUNGRY! Shigure: KYO! DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON TOHRU! And come back to the entrance hall this instant and take those shoes off! Yuki: He's right, Shigure. You really do suck at persuasion.

Whoever makes the fewest persons uneasy, is the best bred man in company.

I learned early that you'd better know what you're talking about. You'd better realize that certain issues are going to be so hot - no matter what reason, what logic you apply to it - you're going to be met with an opposition just because their viewpoint is different, and there's no way they're going to accept your reasoning. Furthermore, they're going to attack you because you will be portrayed as not being credible: "You're an actor. What do you know?"

Manners are the root, laws only the trunk and branches. Manners are the archetypes of laws. Manners are laws in their infancy; laws are manners fully grown,--or, manners are children, which, when they grow up, become laws.

don't be angry with the gentleman for thinking, whatever be the cause, for I assure you he makes no common practice of offending in that way.

The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.

We humans are wired for empathy by evolution, but when children grow up in dominator families they internalize this male over female template for relations early on. They then automatically apply it to other differences, whether based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and so forth.

I think the sort of person you want at a party is someone who is self-aware, polite and has a basic knowledge of table manners. And that goes for both men and women.