Robert G. Allen Quotes

If you can talk and it's convenient to talk, try to say things that edify.

Be careful, think about the effect of what you say. Your words should be constructive, bring people together, not pull them apart.

I always told myself that if I was going to be given a voice, I might as well say something worth listening to and not something that's just going to feed people stupidity.

Skillful conversationalists can explore disagreements and make points in ways that feel constructive and positive rather than combative or corrective.

Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.

When my father spoke, it was to say something meaningful.

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.

Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to be offensive or controversial.

Before you speak ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.

Silence is better than unmeaning words.

Preach not because you have to say something, but because you have something to say.

The most difficult thing to do is to communicate the positive.

There's a way to speak your mind. You don't just go off and say whatever you feel is right. You have to say what you feel is right and say it if it's something that works for the team.

Students, when you want to say something, think about it three times before you say it. Speak only if your words will benefit yourselves and others. Do not speak if it brings no benefit.

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.

We talk a lot about our right to freedom of expression, but we need to talk more about our responsibility to freedom of expression. We all want to be heard, but let's acknowledge the difference between speaking up with intention and speaking up for attention

The proverb answers where the sermon fails.

If we say a little it is easy to add, but having said too much it is hard to withdraw and never can it be done so quickly as to hinder the harm of our success.

Words can wound or heal. The purpose of speech must always be to create joy in the listener.

Words alone are certain good.

Surely human affairs would be far happier if the power in men to be silent were the same as that to speak. But experience more than sufficiently teaches that men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues.

Within seconds thoughts become words that slip off our tongue and into the world. Pausing before we speak may seem cumbersome, but it allows us to decide: Is this helpful? Does this need to be said now? What is the best way to say this?

Reason leavened with a little wit (if possible) is the real alternative to hate speech, meaning that there's no better time for it.

Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.

Realize now the power that your words command if you simply choose them wisely.