Alexander McCall Smith Quotes

I have to be clear with myself and very conscious of what I am trying to say. Misunderstandings will always take place; it's unavoidable.

How often misused words generate misleading thoughts.

I stopped doing interviews for a long time because the words were mine, but they were in the wrong order. Context is a very important thing - a lot of the things I say aren't serious, and so to remove the laughter does me no favours.

If we go on explaining we shall cease to understand one another.

Things definitely got out of perspective.

It is better not to express what one means than to express what one does not mean.

The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready to misunderstand you. Writing so that you cannot be misunderstood anticipates and preempts those who would willfully distort what you are trying to say.

I've learned that I need to spell out, even in cases seemingly so blatant, that in fact I am not taking this at face value and am being 'sarcastic.'

If I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said.

Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended.

Is an intelligent human being likely to be much more than a large-scale manufacturer of misunderstanding?

Sometimes I think it's possible to mistake desire for clarity and talking in a no-nonsense way for aggression.

Everybody in this public arena makes statements and gets interpreted different ways.

Avoid miscommunication. The price you pay for it is horrendous.

I am not very good at expressing myself in a simple way so it can create mis-understandings and I hate that.

The problem I have with making an intelligent statement is that some people then think it's not an isolated occurrence.

It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood.

I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.

I'm loath to do interviews. What comes out is generally not what I meant or thought I was saying or thought they were asking.

What we perceive things to be when they come out of our mouth is not what the listener perceives it to be. They think it differently. They're not your blood. They're not your mind. You get in an argument.

I cannot be understood in three minutes.

The trick to writing for people is, you have to be able to turn them on in your head. And know how they'd word something or how they'd inflect it.

Journalists never make it clear when you are joking.

Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.

If you hear the question wrong, you will answer wrong.