--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we…" description: "\"We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive; but the message we are telling must be true.\" — Edwin Land" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png" --- # We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive… ![“We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive; but the message we are telling must be true.” quote by Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png) > “We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive; but the message we are telling must be true.” [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Messages must be compelling yet truthful; style cannot replace substance. **In simple terms:** Truthful messages matter more than dramatic flair. Key Takeaway Prioritize honesty in communication. Themes communication integrity authenticity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical instructional When to use this quote - marketing - public speaking - writing - leadership Key Concepts ethics persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How can truth be presented engagingly? - When is drama appropriate? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on truth may reduce emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic/) [Dramatic Theatrical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic-theatrical-2188966/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive/) [Persuasive Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive-message-2188967/) [Theatrical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatrical/) [Theatrical Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatrical-persuasive-2188965/) ## Related quotes > [Casino gambling is colorful and dramatic and theatrical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wynn/casino-gambling-is-colorful-and-dramatic-and-theatrical/) [Steve Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wynn/) > [I think poets are much more dramatic, more theatrical than fiction writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-think-poets-are-much-more-dramatic-more-theatrical-than-fiction/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [' The Lucky One' is at its heart a romance novel, elevated however by Nicholas Sparks' persuasive storytelling. Readers don't read his books because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/the-lucky-one-is-at-its-heart-a-romance-novel-elevated-however-by/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Modern literary theory sees a similarity between walking and writing that I find persuasive: words inscribe a text in the same way that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-nicholson/modern-literary-theory-sees-a-similarity-between-walking-and-writing/) [Geoff Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-nicholson/) > [Knowing things halfway is a greater success than knowing things completely: it takes things to be simpler than they really are andso makes its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/knowing-things-halfway-is-a-greater-success-than-knowing-things/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I am not unconscious of the persuasive power exerted by these considerations to drag men along in the current; but I am not at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-f-wade/i-am-not-unconscious-of-the-persuasive-power-exerted-by-these/) [Benjamin F. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-f-wade/) > [We like to imagine that in history, truth will prevail through sheer persuasive power. Sadly, this is not the case. Truth needs champions...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/we-like-to-imagine-that-in-history-truth-will-prevail-through-sheer/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [While the distance between the United States and Iraq is great, Saddam Hussein's ability to use his chemical and biological weapons against us is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/while-the-distance-between-the-united-states-and-iraq-is-great-saddam/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [The strength of a theory is not what it allows, but what it prohibits; if you can invent an equally persuasive explanation for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-strength-of-a-theory-is-not-what-it-allows-but-what-it-prohibits/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [An oyster, that marvel of delicacy, that concentration of sapid excellence, that mouthful bwefore all other mouthfuls, who first had faith to believe it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/an-oyster-that-marvel-of-delicacy-that-concentration-of-sapid/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/american-traditions-and-the-american-ethic-require-us-to-be-truthful/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [Also, and this may sound naïve, but since my early days in journalism, I've felt that getting as close as possible to truth, revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-fink/also-and-this-may-sound-na-ve-but-since-my-early-days-in-journalism-i/) [Sheri Fink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-fink/) > [You must attach yourself spiritually to what you have placed in your imagination as a future fact, and never allow anyone, anything, any circumstance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-attach-yourself-spiritually-to-what-you-have-placed-in-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most important guideline when it comes to argument is the golden rule. If someone were addressing your point, what tone, what overall approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/the-most-important-guideline-when-it-comes-to-argument-is-the-golden/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More by Edwin Land > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [It only takes a day to change someone from an anti-intellectual to an intellectual by persuading him that he might be one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/it-only-takes-a-day-to-change-someone-from-an-anti-intellectual-to-an/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Don't do anything that someone else can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/don-t-do-anything-that-someone-else-can-do/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The present is the past biting into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-present-is-the-past-biting-into-the-future/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The world belongs to the articulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-belongs-to-the-articulate/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Why do I want to believe what I believe?... Science, to put it somewhat vulgarly, is a technique to keep yourself from kidding yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/why-do-i-want-to-believe-what-i-believe-science-to-put-it-somewhat/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Who can object to a monopoly when any new company, if it is built around a scientific nucleus, can create a new monopoly of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/who-can-object-to-a-monopoly-when-any-new-company-if-it-is-built/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [I believe that each young person is different from any other who has ever lived, as different as his fingerprints: that he could bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/i-believe-that-each-young-person-is-different-from-any-other-who-has/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [There is no such thing as group originality, group creativity or group perspicacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/there-is-no-such-thing-as-group-originality-group-creativity-or-group/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A significant invention must be startling, unexpected. It must come to a world that is not prepared for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-significant-invention-must-be-startling-unexpected-it-must-come-to/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [I believe quite simply that the small company of the future will be as much a research organization as it is a manufacturing company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/i-believe-quite-simply-that-the-small-company-of-the-future-will-be/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A premature attempt to explain something that thrills you will destroy your perceptivity rather than increase it, because your tendency will be to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-premature-attempt-to-explain-something-that-thrills-you-will/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A significant inventionmust be startling, unexpected. It must come to a world that is not prepared for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-significant-inventionmust-be-startling-unexpected-it-must-come-to-a/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The world is like a fertile field that's waiting to be harvested. The seeds have been planted, and what I do is go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-is-like-a-fertile-field-that-s-waiting-to-be-harvested-the/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The most important thing about power is to make sure you don't have to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-most-important-thing-about-power-is-to-make-sure-you-don-t-have/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) [Explore all 89 Edwin Land quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) ## More Being true quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. 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Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/) [Richard F. Heck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-f-heck/) > [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [There is no normal. I've never met a normal person. The concept is flawed. It implies that there is only one way people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/there-is-no-normal-i-ve-never-met-a-normal-person-the-concept-is/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [I learned a tremendous amount about what was important to me as a head coach in that I was not in charge. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/i-learned-a-tremendous-amount-about-what-was-important-to-me-as-a/) [Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/) > [Life is all about being true to yourself and what you believe in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/life-is-all-about-being-true-to-yourself-and-what-you-believe-in/) [Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/) > [I have spent most of my life unlearning things that were proved not to be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-unlearning-things-that-were-proved-not/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [It seemed too good to be true. That's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/it-seemed-too-good-to-be-true-that-s-grace/) [Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/) > [You create the happiness and the balance that you have, and your own power. This is one thing that I know to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/you-create-the-happiness-and-the-balance-that-you-have-and-your-own/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [Being true to yourself means living in truth with each person in your life. It means refusing to say or do something that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/being-true-to-yourself-means-living-in-truth-with-each-person-in-your/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is not the responsibility of the enlightened teacher to bring the student to enlightenment. That may be true in the classroom, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-is-not-the-responsibility-of-the-enlightened-teacher-to-bring-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 1,447 Being true quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive; but the message we are telling must be true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edwin Land" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-can-be-persuasive-but-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being true" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-can-be-persuasive-but-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/edwin-land-7636_being-true_we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-ca_1010156.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can be dramatic, even theatrical; we can be persuasive; but the message we are telling must be true.” — Edwin Land", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edwin Land", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can be dramatic, even theatrical;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-can-be-persuasive-but-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-can-be-dramatic-even-theatrical-we-can-be-persuasive-but-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```