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People may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want.
David Mamet
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Interpretation

What this quote means

People often communicate with ulterior motives, expressing desires rather than straightforward truths.

This quote highlights the complexity of human communication, suggesting that while individuals may not always be transparent in expressing their thoughts, they invariably convey messages that are strategically crafted to meet their own desires. It implies a deeper layer of understanding is required to truly grasp what someone is trying to communicate.

Themes

CommunicationMotivesDesiresRelationshipsTransparency

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a communication workshop to emphasize the importance of understanding underlying motives.

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Quote by David Mamet | QuoteProject