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About this quote

What does it mean?
De Gaulle claims silence builds authority by showing strength and protecting the weak.
In plain terms
Silence builds authority for the strong and protects the weak.
What can you take from it?
Strategic silence can project power.

Where it applies

  • leadership
  • negotiation
  • public speaking

Putting it to work

  • using pauses effectively
  • projecting confidence

Questions to consider

  • When is silence more powerful than words?
  • How do you use silence in leadership?

Another view

Silence can also be interpreted as ignorance or weakness.

More from Charles de Gaulle

  1. The desire of privilege and the taste of equality are the dominant and contradictory passions of the French of all times.

    Permalink to quote #21
  2. It is better to have a bad method than to have none.

    Permalink to quote #23
  3. France was built with swords. The fleur-de-lis, symbol of national unity, is only the image of a spear with three pikes.

    Permalink to quote #20

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