Edwin Newman Quotes

A multitude of words is probably the most formidable means of blurring and obscuring thought. There is no thought, however momentous, that cannot be expressed lucidly in 200 words.

Definite speech means clarity of mind.

I like people who are minimalist with their words. Jack Nicholson thinks a lot then says something, and it's always spot on. Nelson Mandela is the same.

What is conceived well is expressed clearly.

Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.

He had a wonderful talent for packing thought close, and rendering it portable.

A good discourse is that from which nothing can be retrenched without cutting into the quick.

When a thought is too weak to be expressed simply, it should be rejected.

If your own mind is muddled, much more will the minds of your hearers be confused.

The niftiest turn of phrase, the most elegant flight of rhetorical fancy, isn't worth beans next to a clear thought clearly expressed.

He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most explicit and direct manner. He tries to compress as much thought as possible into a few words. On the contrary, the man who talks everlastingly and promiscuously, who seems to have an exhaustless magazine of sound, crowds so many words into his thoughts that he always obscures, and very frequently conceals them.

True brevity of expression consists in a man only saying what is worth saying, while avoiding all diffuse explanations of things which every one can think out for himself.

Multitudes of words are neither an argument of clear ideas in the writer, nor a proper means of conveying clear notions to the reader.

Everything that can be said, can be said clearly.

Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.

He who would reproach an author for obscurity should look into his own mind to see whether it is quite clear there. In the dusk the plainest writing is illegible.

Talking about things that are understandable only weighs down the mind.

I see but one rule: to be clear.

Say only what you mean.

You try to make every word count, so there's no doubt what you're talking about. When you're young, you waffle away. Well, I'm done with that. I think it's much more interesting to say just what you mean.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Clear writing, and therefore clear commands, comes from clear thinking. Think simple.

To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph.

As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.

Good writing , like gold , combines lustrous lucidity with high density. What this means is good writing is packed with hints.

"Simple" is a tricky word, it can mean a lot of things. To us, it just means clear. That doesn't always mean total reduction, or minimalism - sometimes, to make things clearer, you have to add a step.