--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People don't follow words; they follow…" description: "\"“People don't follow words; they follow conviction and without conviction the words are meaningless.”\" — Jennifer Ott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg" --- # People don't follow words; they follow conviction and… ![“People don't follow words; they follow conviction and without conviction the words are meaningless.” quote by Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg) > ““People don't follow words; they follow conviction and without conviction the words are meaningless.”” [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words lack impact without genuine belief; conviction gives language purpose and influence. **In simple terms:** Belief gives words power. Key Takeaway Cultivate conviction before speaking. Themes belief communication influence Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - activism - personal branding Key Concepts rhetoric authenticity psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you build conviction in your ideas? - When should you prioritize facts over conviction? A Different Perspective Conviction alone may not overcome misinformation or bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Conviction Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction-words-3739131/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow/) [Follow Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-words-2637168/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-follow-3672798/) [Words Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-meaningless-998131/) ## Related quotes > [ You follow words of the toga (language of the cultivated class). \[Lat., Verba togae sequeris.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aulus-persius-flaccus/you-follow-words-of-the-toga-language-of-the-cultivated-class-lat/) [Aulus Persius Flaccus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aulus-persius-flaccus/) > [The words are meaningless except in terms of feeling. Does anyone act as the result of thought or does feeling stimulate action and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-words-are-meaningless-except-in-terms-of-feeling-does-anyone-act/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [You can apologize over and over but if your actions don't change, the words become meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/you-can-apologize-over-and-over-but-if-your-actions-don-t-change-the/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Words are meaningless and forgettable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/depeche-mode/words-are-meaningless-and-forgettable/) [Depeche Mode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/depeche-mode/) > [Resolve is more than just saying you'll do it. It's having the conviction in your words and yourself that you'll get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden/resolve-is-more-than-just-saying-you-ll-do-it-it-s-having-the/) [Isaiah Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden/) > [It can't be said lightly. It can't be said in vain. It can't be said with question. It can't be said with fear. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-wilks/it-can-t-be-said-lightly-it-can-t-be-said-in-vain-it-can-t-be-said/) [Stacy Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-wilks/) > [As shadows attend substances, so words follow upon things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chenevix-trench/as-shadows-attend-substances-so-words-follow-upon-things/) [Richard Chenevix Trench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chenevix-trench/) > [Grasp the subject, the words will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-elder/grasp-the-subject-the-words-will-follow/) [Cato the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-elder/) > [Truthfully, I could talk about all day and all night I'd still have a million more things to say. But to many words become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truthfully-i-could-talk-about-all-day-and-all-night-i-d-still-have-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the bubble of ignorance bursts the self realizes its oneness with the indivisible Self. Words that proceed from the Source of Truth have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/when-the-bubble-of-ignorance-bursts-the-self-realizes-its-oneness/) [Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/) > [“Vows are spoken To be broken Feelings are intense Words are trivial Pleasures remain So does the pain Words are meaningless And forgettable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gore/vows-are-spoken-to-be-broken-feelings-are-intense-words-are-trivial/) [Martin Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gore/) > [TBH,i could talk about you all day and night and I'd still have a million more things to say. but too many words became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzie/tbh-i-could-talk-about-you-all-day-and-night-and-i-d-still-have-a/) [Kenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzie/) > [Words are meaningless; sugarcoat nothing. Save your words; make them count. Let your words be as a hammer of truth, such that those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-q/words-are-meaningless-sugarcoat-nothing-save-your-words-make-them/) [Josh Q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-q/) > [Words become meaningless, the mind cuts itself off from reality for a little while, a necessary breathing space until one is ready to cope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-higgins/words-become-meaningless-the-mind-cuts-itself-off-from-reality-for-a/) [Jack Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-higgins/) > [You can say you love someone - but unless you demonstrate that love through your actions, your words become meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-say-you-love-someone-but-unless-you-demonstrate-that-love/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) ## More by Jennifer Ott > [“What happens to the world when science stops evolving?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/what-happens-to-the-world-when-science-stops-evolving/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“Maybe it’s time to set aside intellectualism and experience the wonders of things that can’t be explained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/maybe-it-s-time-to-set-aside-intellectualism-and-experience-the/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“If you cannot reach a state of utter oneness with each other, how do you expect to solve anything? Separate the world will crumble;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/if-you-cannot-reach-a-state-of-utter-oneness-with-each-other-how-do/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“When we reach our highest potential, we will find our highest love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/when-we-reach-our-highest-potential-we-will-find-our-highest-love/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“All a woman needs is a little pampering and a little perspective and she is ready to conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/all-a-woman-needs-is-a-little-pampering-and-a-little-perspective-and/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“A true champion of love and sport wears it proudly in all aspects of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/a-true-champion-of-love-and-sport-wears-it-proudly-in-all-aspects-of/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“What makes a man real is when his actions and words become memorable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/what-makes-a-man-real-is-when-his-actions-and-words-become-memorable/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“Most people's lives are fuzzy. That's the problem with the world. No one stops to think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/most-people-s-lives-are-fuzzy-that-s-the-problem-with-the-world-no/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“Consciousness is the core of humanity. It can be a curse or it can be a cure. Only humanity can decide how to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/consciousness-is-the-core-of-humanity-it-can-be-a-curse-or-it-can-be/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“Man has been slipping backward for ages. The more advanced we became the more primitive we grew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/man-has-been-slipping-backward-for-ages-the-more-advanced-we-became/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [“What is the future of men who have lost sight of the past? Earl Hollsopple lived on the edge of civilization in a deserted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/what-is-the-future-of-men-who-have-lost-sight-of-the-past-earl/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) [Explore all 12 Jennifer Ott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) ## More Conviction quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“Desert are you, deluge are you, in a crowd of fakes, only truth is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/desert-are-you-deluge-are-you-in-a-crowd-of-fakes-only-truth-is-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/) > [We need the conviction to be able to think for ourselves and to take action outof our own sense of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-need-the-conviction-to-be-able-to-think-for-ourselves-and-to-take/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) [Browse all 2,157 Conviction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People don't follow words; they follow conviction and without conviction the words are meaningless.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Ott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-conviction-and-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conviction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-conviction-and-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/jennifer-ott-37301_conviction_people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-co_610945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People don't follow words; they follow conviction and without conviction the words are meaningless.” — Jennifer Ott", "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": "Jennifer Ott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People don't follow words; they follow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-conviction-and-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/people-don-t-follow-words-they-follow-conviction-and-without/#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 } } ] } ```