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About this quote

What does it mean?
Declining to comment is itself a form of communication that conveys specific information.
In plain terms
Saying you will not speak still tells people something important.
What can you take from it?
Silence or refusal can communicate clearly.

Where it applies

  • public relations
  • interviews
  • diplomacy

Putting it to work

  • read between the lines
  • understand silence as speech

Questions to consider

  • What does silence say to you?
  • When is not speaking an act?

Another view

Sometimes silence is genuinely accidental or accidental not a choice.

More from George Carlin

  1. Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.

    Permalink to quote #172

  2. Nothing is so boring as listening to someone else describe a dream.

    Permalink to quote #174

  3. Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.

    Permalink to quote #171

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