Kofi Annan Quotes

I'm very good at manipulation.

Sometimes terror and pain are not the best levers; deception, when it works, is the most elegant and the least expensive manipulation of all.

Tactics are manipulative.

I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.

Fraud is the homage that force pays to reason.

One must do things in such a way that people believe that they want it to be done this way.

Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game.” “What . . . what game?” “The only game. The game of thrones.” -(Littlefinger)

Playing with appearances and mastering the arts of deception are among the aesthetic pleasures of life. They are also key components in the acquisition of power.

When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts ... Who knows what use they’ll make of you? Maybe you’ll help them to persuade people to buy things they don’t need, or hate things they know nothing about, or hold beliefs that make them easy to handle, or doubt the truths that might save them.

Manipulating people, that's what I'm good at

You will find ambiguity a great ally on your road to power. Give a sign of Slytherin on one day, and contradict it with a sign of Gryffindor the next; and the Slytherins will be enabled to believe what they wish, while the Gryffindors argue themselves into supporting you as well. So long as there is uncertainty, people can believe whatever seems to be to their own advantage. And so long as you appear strong, so long as you appear to be winning, their instincts will tell them that their advantage lies with you. Walk always in the shadow, and light and darkness both will follow.

Take a good look around and you'll find people trying to mess with your mind.

When it comes to controlling human beings, there is no better instrument than lies. Because you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.

I've come to learn that the determined and gifted and genuine sociopath has far more power to deceive than we realize.

It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to.

Scarlett O'Hara didn't think she was manipulating. That's just the way she got what she wanted.

Politics. The art of governing mankind by deceiving them.

You have no power or authority, of course.... Is there anything we can appear to do?

Propaganda does not aim to elevate man, but to make him serve.

Deception is the knowledge of kings.

My momma was slick as greased lightning. She knew how to get anybody and everybody to do whatever she wanted 'em to do.

Get me inside any boardroom and I'll get any decision I want.

I'm not trying to twist people's heads around. I'm not trying to say, "Believe in me."

He was an outsider who lived by his ability to manipulate the inside.

I don't need handcuffs to enslave a woman.