Quotes About Clarity

Be relentless about simplifying everything without exception.

When you eliminate the impossible, all that remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' That's Spock in Star Trek VI, but he's paraphrasing Sherlock Holmes.

When you eliminate the impossible, all that remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

The Middleman: "So what's it going to be? Keep the secret or death?" Wendy Watson: "What do you think?" The Middleman: "Ma'am specificity is the soul of all good communication.

Es extraño cómo un pensamiento nos llega a veces con tanta nitidez y fuerza que ya no puede mediar nada entre él y su cumplimiento".

Basta con que alguien salga por una puerta y desaparezca para que su imagen empiece a difuminarse, basta con dejar de ver para ya no ver claro, o no ver nada; y con oír pasa lo mismo, y no digamos con el tacto.

se tarda más en hablar que en echar un prefijado polvo, sea de nuevo mal dicho y para mejor entendernos.

No he querido saber, pero he sabido […]

De waarheid is nooit glashelder, blijft altijd een warnet. Zelfs als de draden ontrafelt zijn

cada vez hay más zona de sombra. Aunque también haya más iluminada, siempre son más las sombras.

But they are two different topics, and should be two different conversations. Trying to talk about both topics simultaneously is like mixing your apple pie and your lasagna into one pan and throwing it in the oven. No matter how long you bake it, it's going to come out a mess.

Talking successfully about feelings requires you to be scrupulous about taking the judgments, attributions, and statements of blame out of what you are saying, and putting the statement of feeling in. It is crucial to look at the actual words you are using to see whether those words really convey what you want them to. For

The goal shouldn't be to remove interpretation or judgment. It should be to make judgments thoughtfully, and once made, to have them be transparent and discussable.

The error we make in the realm of intentions is simple but profound : we assume we know the intentions of others when we don't. Worse still, when we are unsure about someone's intentions, we too often decide they are bad.

This illustrates an important rule about inquiry: If you don't have a question, don't ask a question. Never dress up an assertion as a question. Doing so creates confusion and resentment, because such questions are inevitably heard as sarcastic and sometimes mean-spirited.

Tell me more" and "Help me understand better . . .

It's better to make your question an invitation rather than a demand, and to make that clear. The difference is that an invitation can be declined without penalty. This offers a greater sense of safety and, especially if the other person declines to respond and your reaction makes that okay, it builds trust between you.

Peanuts aren't nuts. Whales aren't fish. Tomatoes aren't vegetables. And attributions, judgments, and accusations aren't feelings.

As you embark upon a difficult conversation, ask yourself, "Have I said what is at the heart of the matter for me? Have I shared what is at stake?" If not, ask yourself why, and see if you can find the courage to try.

Say What You Mean: Don't Make Them Guess

If you are having a difficult conversation, and someone asks why you disagree, how come you never say, "Because what I'm saying makes absolutely no sense"?

Too often we confuse being emotional with expressing emotions clearly.

we don't know what we don't know.

First, paraphrasing gives you a chance to check your understanding. Difficult conversations are made harder when an important misunderstanding exists, and such misunderstandings are more common than we imagine. Paraphrasing gives the other person the chance to say, "No, that's not quite what I meant. What I really meant was . .