Margaret Shepherd > Quotes

“Conversation lets you be an artist every time you open your mouth--or shut it. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, "The most important art is to omit"; the key to being a master conversationalist is to listen at least as much as you talk. Just as the other arts include pauses in a dramatic play, white margins around printed text, and space between a singer's phrases, conversation is about silences as well as about words.”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace

“The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones. —Solomon ibn Gabirol”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace

“because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace

“Sharing opinions is more productive if you go looking for areas where you can learn something from each other—that is”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace

“The most important art is to omit”; the key to being a master conversationalist is to listen at least as much as you talk.”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace

“Civilized conversation is an art that transforms everyday life into something richer.”
― Margaret Shepherd, The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace