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Success is the important thing. Propaganda is not a matter for average minds, but rather a matter for practitioners. It is not supposed to be lovely or theoretically correct. I do not care if I give wonderful, aesthetically elegant speeches, or speak so that women cry. The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think right. I speak differently in the provinces than I do in Berlin, and when I speak in Bayreuth, I say different things than I say in the Pharus Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths.

Joseph Goebbels#1

PoliticsPowerPropagandaManipulationRhetoricSpeech

About this quote

What does it mean?
Propaganda prioritizes persuasion and mass appeal over intellectual truth or aesthetic quality.
In plain terms
Political speeches aim to convince people, not to be beautiful or correct.
What can you take from it?
Effective messaging focuses on the audience's reaction rather than abstract ideals.

Where it applies

  • political campaigning
  • public speaking
  • media strategy

Putting it to work

  • tailor message to audience
  • prioritize impact over elegance
  • study audience reactions

Questions to consider

  • Is truth important in public messaging?
  • How do you measure successful persuasion?

Another view

This view justifies manipulation and disregards ethical communication standards.

More from Joseph Goebbels

  1. What does Christianity mean today? National Socialism is a religion. All we lack is a religious genius capable of uprooting outmoded religious practices and pu…

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  2. That is of course rather painful for those involved. One should not as a rule reveal one's secrets, since one does not know if and when one may need them again…

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  3. Berndt reicht mir eine Ausarbeitung uber die von uns zu betreibende okkultistische Propaganda ein. Hier wird in der Tat Einiges geleistet. Die Amerikaner und E…

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