Jean Cocteau Quotes

Tact in audacity is knowing how far you can go without going too far.

When I was younger I probably didn't understand something basic about tact, but I think it kept faint-hearted people at arm's distance and that's not such a bad thing, because life is short and I know the kind of people I want to work with.

Civility does not mean surrender.

Silence and tact may or may not be the same thing.

I'm not strong-willed enough or unkind enough... or maybe simply not wise enough to tell a journalist that a subject is out of bounds.

It's very important in life to know when to shut up. You should not be afraid of silence.

Always be prudent but never hesitant.

I don't know where, or by whom, Judge Wapner was raised, but my parents taught me, when you don't have something nice to say about someone, say nothing.

I don't think I'm a loud mouth.

There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.

a great man always knows better than to explain unless an explanation is demanded. To rush into explanations and excuses is always a sign of weakness.

Wise is the man who says what needs to be said, but not all that could be said.

It is a great art to be superior to others without letting them know it.

Knowing when to speak up and when to shut up will get you very far not only in business, but in life.

Politeness. Now there's a poor man's virtue if ever there was one. What's so admirable about inoffensiveness, I should like to know. After all, it's easily achieved. One needs no particular talent to be polite. On the contrary, being nice is what's left when you've failed at everything else. People with ambition don't give a damn what other people think about them.

Silence is one great art of conversation. He is not a fool who knows when to hold his tongue; and a person may gain credit for sense, eloquence, wit, who merely says nothing to lessen the opinion which others have of these qualities in themselves.

Nothing is often a good thing to do and always a good thing to say.

Knowing when to keep your mouth shut is invariably more important than opening it at the right time.

If you can't manage courtesy, try silence.

If you have nothing to say, say nothing.

Boldness in itself is genius.

Nothing is more like a wise man than a fool who holds his tongue.

To negotiate is not to do as one likes.

Tact is the unsaid part of what you think.

I have been cautioned to talk but be careful not to say anything. I do not consider this a difficult task.