--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am always quiet so that I know what to…" description: "\"I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.\" — Ishmael Beah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg" --- # I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must… ![“I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.” quote by Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg) > “I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.” [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence allows observation and thoughtful response when speaking is necessary. **In simple terms:** Being quiet helps you speak wisely. Key Takeaway Listen first, speak later. Themes communication mindfulness wisdom Mood thoughtful patient Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - meetings - conflict resolution - public speaking - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology social interaction Questions to Reflect On - When is it better to speak immediately? - How does listening improve your responses? A Different Perspective Silence may lead to missed opportunities if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [The law of silence: Speak little. Say only what you must. Speak only when necessary. Your oratory should be deeds, not words. You accomplish:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/the-law-of-silence-speak-little-say-only-what-you-must-speak-only/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [If I'm quiet, you should know me enough to not ask whats wrong but to find a way to make me happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/if-i-m-quiet-you-should-know-me-enough-to-not-ask-whats-wrong-but-to/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [“It was only too bad that to gossip and support mean ideas was easier and more enjoyable, really, than to keep quiet and know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-coplin/it-was-only-too-bad-that-to-gossip-and-support-mean-ideas-was-easier/) [Amanda Coplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-coplin/) > [I always say, 'When things are quiet, you know something is going on.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-always-say-when-things-are-quiet-you-know-something-is-going-on/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [When you meet me, you think I am quiet. Then you get to know me and just wish I was quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/when-you-meet-me-you-think-i-am-quiet-then-you-get-to-know-me-and/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [I am kinda like, if I don't really know people I am a little passive and a little quiet, and you know most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabolous/i-am-kinda-like-if-i-don-t-really-know-people-i-am-a-little-passive/) Fabolous > [“Silence was not quiet or calm, and it was not peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/silence-was-not-quiet-or-calm-and-it-was-not-peace/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [You can only watch injustice go on for so long until you're compelled to say something. To speak out against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macklemore/you-can-only-watch-injustice-go-on-for-so-long-until-you-re-compelled/) [Macklemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macklemore/) > [First learn the meaning of what you want to say, and then speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/first-learn-the-meaning-of-what-you-want-to-say-and-then-speak/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Sometimes, the things people don't say speak louder than the things they do, though.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-randall/sometimes-the-things-people-don-t-say-speak-louder-than-the-things/) [Andrea Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-randall/) > [“I write to say what I cannot speak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mitchell/i-write-to-say-what-i-cannot-speak/) [Ben Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mitchell/) > [“The writer must write what he has to say, not speak it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-writer-must-write-what-he-has-to-say-not-speak-it/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Students, when you want to say something, think about it three times before you say it. Speak only if your words will benefit yourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/students-when-you-want-to-say-something-think-about-it-three-times/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [I do have a mouth - I will say. I speak up when I see things I don't care for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-bishop/i-do-have-a-mouth-i-will-say-i-speak-up-when-i-see-things-i-don-t/) [Kelly Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-bishop/) > [“Daddy-by Nancy B. Brewer When I used to say, speak up you are as good as they, You would just smile and say, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-b-brewer/daddy-by-nancy-b-brewer-when-i-used-to-say-speak-up-you-are-as-good/) [Nancy B. Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-brewer/) ## More by Ishmael Beah > [“At night it felt as if we were walking with the moon. It followed us under thick clouds and waited for us at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/at-night-it-felt-as-if-we-were-walking-with-the-moon-it-followed-us/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [“I learned that you are not free until you stop others from making you feel worthless. Because if you do not, you will eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-learned-that-you-are-not-free-until-you-stop-others-from-making-you/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [ONE OF THE UNSETTLING THINGS about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn’t sure when or where it was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/one-of-the-unsettling-things-about-my-journey-mentally-physically-and/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [“We walked into the arms of the forest...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/we-walked-into-the-arms-of-the-forest/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/for-many-observers-a-child-who-has-known-nothing-but-war-a-child-for/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/my-squad-is-my-family-my-gun-is-my-provider-and-protector-and-my-rule/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [My mother tongue, Mende, is very expressive, very figurative, and when I write, I always struggle to find the English equivalent of things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/my-mother-tongue-mende-is-very-expressive-very-figurative-and-when-i/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [Some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their family and communities...This was one of the consequences of civil war. People stopped trusting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/some-people-tried-to-hurt-us-to-protect-themselves-their-family-and/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [I grew up in Sierra Leone, in a small village where as a boy my imagination was sparked by the oral tradition of storytelling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-grew-up-in-sierra-leone-in-a-small-village-where-as-a-boy-my/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/my-childhood-had-gone-by-without-my-knowing-and-it-seemed-as-if-my/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [“Circumstances will change and things will be fine, just hold on a little more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/circumstances-will-change-and-things-will-be-fine-just-hold-on-a/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [This is one of the consequences of the civil war. People stop trusting each other, and every stranger becomes an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/this-is-one-of-the-consequences-of-the-civil-war-people-stop-trusting/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [A lot of people, when they say 'forgive and forget,' they think you completely wash your brain out and forget everything. That is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/a-lot-of-people-when-they-say-forgive-and-forget-they-think-you/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [It's exhausting writing nonfiction, particularly when it's personal. It's tiring, always speaking about things that are not necessarily fun retelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/it-s-exhausting-writing-nonfiction-particularly-when-it-s-personal-it/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [I had a very simple, unremarkable and happy life. And I grew up in a very small town. And so my life was made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-had-a-very-simple-unremarkable-and-happy-life-and-i-grew-up-in-a/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) [Explore all 65 Ishmael Beah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) ## More Knows quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-knows-does-not-speak-he-who-speaks-does-not-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) Browse all 53,133 Knows quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ishmael Beah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to-say-when-i-must-speak/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to-say-when-i-must-speak/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/ishmael-beah-10467_knows_i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to_1003622.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am always quiet so that I know what to say when I must speak.” — Ishmael Beah", "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": "Ishmael Beah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am always quiet so that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to-say-when-i-must-speak/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/i-am-always-quiet-so-that-i-know-what-to-say-when-i-must-speak/#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 } } ] } ```