Quotes on how to think before you speak: examples from history’s greatest thinkers

This page compiles the top quotes and proverbs on how to think before you speak, coming from some of the greatest minds in history. This page will help you better understand how to think before you speak, and most importantly think before you act. There is also a short set of steps you can follow at the end of this page to implement it into your daily life. Hopefully, these quotes will help you think before you comment.

The best 9 quotes from history’s greatest thinkers on how to think before you speak

Mahatma Gandhi on thinking before you speak

“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Voltaire on thinking before you speak

“Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said.”

– Voltaire

Winston Churchill on thinking before you speak

“By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.”

– Winston Churchill

Abraham Lincoln on thinking before you speak

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Lewis Carroll on thinking before you speak

Always speak the truth, think before you speak, and write it down afterwards.

— Lewis Carroll

Napoleon Hill on thinking before you speak

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

— Napoleon Hill

Ambros Bierce on thinking before you speak

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

– Ambrose Bierce

Thomas Browne on thinking before you speak

“Think before you act; Think twice before you speak.”

– Thomas Browne

Lilly Collins on thinking before you speak

Think before you speak. Think before you judge. Think before you think you have a person all figured out.

— Lily Collins

Proverbs on how to think before you speak

“The wise person has long ears and a short tongue.”

– German Proverb

“The tongue weighs practically nothing, but so few people can hold it.”

– African Proverb

“Think before you speak, but do not speak all you think”

– Chinese Proverb

Steps on how to think before you speak

Here are the gradual steps in order so you can think before you speak.

  1. Pause before you speak: wait 1-5 seconds.
  2. Think about what to say: let alternative things to say simmer in your mind.
  3. Speak slowly and carefully: slow your speech to about 75% of what it usually is.

Further Reading on How to Think before you speak

I wrote a detailed guide on how to think before you speak. It covers the exact steps on how to think before you speak in more detail than the above guide, the main benefits, and helpful frameworks you can use to make sure you use your words carefully. Read the guide on how to think before you speak here.

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