To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.
Interpretation
Persuasion relies on credibility, which stems from truthfulness.
This quote emphasizes the importance of truthfulness in effective communication. To persuade others, one must first be seen as credible, and this credibility is fundamentally built upon a foundation of honesty and trustworthiness, suggesting that the practice of being truthful is essential to influencing others effectively.
In practice
In a debate setting, one might quote this to emphasize the need for honesty.
We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
One of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news. Each of the three is a rather bizarre and demanding profession. And when you get all three under one roof, the dust never settles.
Speaking of Sir Winston Churchill: He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.
People don't listen to understand. They listen to reply. The collective monologue is everyone talking and no one listening.
Merely stating a truth isn't enough. The truth has to be made vivid, interesting, dramatic. You have to use showmanship.
Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment.
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.
The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly.
I learned to write because I am one of those people who somehow cannot manage the common communications of smiles and gestures, but must use words to get across things that other people would never need to say.
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