Patrick J. Adams Quotes

With a soft tongue you can even pull a snake out of its nest.

To persuade is more trouble than to dominate, and the powerful seldom take this trouble if they can avoid it.

I did a lot of fast talking as a youth; I was pretty good at it. I was never talked into it - I was always the one doing the talking.

President Obama thinks he can use emotion to bring pressure on Congress. But that's not how adults with power respond to things.

I was really a charmer; I was the guy who would get to the office, the principal would sit me down and within 10 minutes, we'd be, like, talking about some movies or something.

I've been dealing with politicians all my life. All my life. And I've always gotten them to do what I need them to do.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I don't believe in strong-arming people.

I've always been very good at convincing people. For instance, if I arrive in an airport and I'm in economy, I can always convince the guy to put me in first class.

You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.

Americans are big boys. You can talk them into almost anything. Just sit with them for half an hour over a bottle of whiskey and be a nice guy.

I've been on the other side of the table many times, trying to get people to be sympathetic to projects, and I've been the victim of that kind of intense kindness masking extreme stupidity.

Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice Doggie!” till you can find a rock.

Diplomacy is the art of letting somebody else have your way.

It was difficult to contradict this artist—this seducer.

The public official must pick his way nicely, must learn to placate though not to yield too much, to have the art of honeyed words but not to seem neutral, and above all to keep constantly audible, visible, likable, even kissable.

God and my dad gave me the gift of gab. I know how to finagle.

I'm too blunt and straightforward for politics, but I'm friends with all.

I know how to win people over if things aren't going my way.

I am a very persuasive man.

As a survivor, you learn how to talk fast, cut deals, lie when you have to - perfect training to be a politician, you know?

It is a principle of diplomacy that one must know something of the truth in order to lie convincingly.

The ability to have our own way, and at the same time convince others they are having their own way, is a rare thing among men. Among women it is as common as eyebrows.

And a diplomatist is one who lets the other fellow think he's getting his way, while all the time he's having his own. It never does any special harm to let people have their way with their mouths.

There is always one way to make anybody do anything - the trouble is to find it.