--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The orator puts off his individuality…" description: "\"The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most eloquent when most silent. He listens while he speaks, and is a hearer along with his audience...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/henry-david-thoreau-20_audience_the-orator-puts-off-his-individuality-an_2888959.jpg" --- # The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most… ![“The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most eloquent when most silent. He listens while he speaks, and is a hearer along with his audience.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/henry-david-thoreau-20_audience_the-orator-puts-off-his-individuality-an_2888959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/henry-david-thoreau-20_audience_the-orator-puts-off-his-individuality-an_2888959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/henry-david-thoreau-20_audience_the-orator-puts-off-his-individuality-an_2888959.jpg) > “The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most eloquent when most silent. He listens while he speaks, and is a hearer along with his audience.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True eloquence comes from listening; speaking only after understanding, making the speaker a true participant. **In simple terms:** Listen before you speak. Key Takeaway Practice active listening to improve communication. Themes communication humility leadership dialogue Mood thoughtful instructive Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - meetings - teaching - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure your listening is heard? - When is speaking more important than listening? A Different Perspective Silence can be misinterpreted as weakness or disengagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Eloquent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eloquent/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Orator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orator/) [Orators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orators/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [What is called eloquence in the forum is commonly found to be rhetoric in the study. The orator yields to the inspiration of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-called-eloquence-in-the-forum-is-commonly-found-to-be-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If it is naturally in you to be a good orator, a notable orator you will be when you have acquired knowledge and practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-it-is-naturally-in-you-to-be-a-good-orator-a-notable-orator-you/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Here comes the orator with his flood of words and his drop of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/here-comes-the-orator-with-his-flood-of-words-and-his-drop-of-reason/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The Orator persuades and carries all with him, he knows not how; the Rhetorician can prove that he ought to have persuaded and carried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-orator-persuades-and-carries-all-with-him-he-knows-not-how-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [A good talker, even more than a good orator, implies a good audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/a-good-talker-even-more-than-a-good-orator-implies-a-good-audience/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [Where judgment has wit to express it, there's the best orator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/where-judgment-has-wit-to-express-it-there-s-the-best-orator/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [An orator can hardly get beyond commonplaces: if he does he gets beyond his hearers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/an-orator-can-hardly-get-beyond-commonplaces-if-he-does-he-gets/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [ Let arms yield to the toga, let the \[victor's\] laurel yield to the \[orator's\] tongue. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-arms-yield-to-the-toga-let-the-victor-s-laurel-yield-to-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [An orator is a good man who is skilled in speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-elder/an-orator-is-a-good-man-who-is-skilled-in-speaking/) [Cato the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-elder/) > [Swami Vivekananda: The genuine orator exercises a sort of hypnotism over his audience. I have listened to many orators, Indian, English and American; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshub-chandra-sen/swami-vivekananda-the-genuine-orator-exercises-a-sort-of-hypnotism/) [Keshub Chandra Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshub-chandra-sen/) > [Like a rough orator, that brings more truth Than rhetoric, to make good his accusation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/like-a-rough-orator-that-brings-more-truth-than-rhetoric-to-make-good/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [You could be the World's greatest orator and if you don't say anything while orating, they are going to walk out on you after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/you-could-be-the-world-s-greatest-orator-and-if-you-don-t-say/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The orator, who may be silent without danger, may praise without difficulty and without reluctance; and posterity will confess that the character of Theodosius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-orator-who-may-be-silent-without-danger-may-praise-without/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [An accomplished mathematician, i.e. a most wretched orator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/an-accomplished-mathematician-i-e-a-most-wretched-orator/) [Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/) > [There are prating coxcombs in the world who would rather talk than listen, although Shakespeare himself were the orator, and human nature the theme!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/there-are-prating-coxcombs-in-the-world-who-would-rather-talk-than/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most eloquent when most silent. 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