If all our agents would abridge their speeches one half, I am satisfied the effect produced would be much greater. The 'art of leaving off' at the right time, and in the right place, is one of the most difficult things to learn.
Interpretation
Effective communication often requires brevity, and knowing when to stop speaking can enhance the impact of our message.
In this quote, William Lloyd Garrison highlights the importance of conciseness in communication. He suggests that if speakers were to reduce their speeches by half, the resulting clarity and focus could significantly amplify the message's effectiveness. Learning to 'leave off' at the right time is presented as a challenging but crucial skill that enhances the overall communication experience, allowing the audience to absorb and reflect on the essence of what is being conveyed.
In practice
During a public speaking workshop to emphasize the importance of concise messaging.
Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, and liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us than are those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury.
Surely, nothing can be more dangerous than the doctrine that the moral obligations of men change with the latitude and longitude of a place.
I do not believe that God has created us under this dire necessity to toil, like beasts, to sustain life. I believe it is his will that we should hold absolute mastery over time, so as to devote it mainly to intellectual and moral improvement, domestic enjoyment, and social intercourse.
If the State cannot survive the anti-slavery agitation, then let the State perish. If the Church must be cast down by the strugglings of Humanity to be free, then let the Church fall and its fragments be scattered to the four winds of Heaven, never more to curse the earth.
Has not the experience of two centuries shown that gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice? Is there an instance, in the history of the world, where slaves have been educated for freedom by their task-masters?
The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal and hasten the resurrection of the dead.
It isn't normal to know what we want. It is a rare and difficult psychological achievement.
Do not say, 'It is morning,' and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.
We should never rush into folly just because other nations are practicing it.
He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Too much work and too much energy kill a man just as effectively as too much assorted vice or too much drink.
All your life you think 60 is ancient, and all of a sudden you find you're 60 and you don't really feel that different. I feel stronger and more engaged. This is the best time of my life.
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