--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't want people to be afraid of…" description: "\"We don't want people to be afraid of saying something interesting on the off chance it's taken the wrong way.\" — Jon Lovett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg" --- # We don't want people to be afraid of saying something… ![“We don't want people to be afraid of saying something interesting on the off chance it's taken the wrong way.” quote by Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg) > “We don't want people to be afraid of saying something interesting on the off chance it's taken the wrong way.” [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges openness, warning that fear of misinterpretation can silence interesting ideas. **In simple terms:** Fear of being misunderstood should not stop speaking. Key Takeaway Speak boldly despite risk. Themes communication courage expression misinterpretation Mood cautious encouraging Type advisory motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - social media posts - creative brainstorming - journalism - teaching Key Concepts psychology media studies public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can you gauge audience reaction? - What strategies protect against misreading? A Different Perspective Risk of backlash can still suppress voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“And it seemed to me, too, that I've always been afraid when I was in the company of people…afraid of saying something stupid…afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/and-it-seemed-to-me-too-that-i-ve-always-been-afraid-when-i-was-in/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [I love to write down things I notice about people or things I've overheard people saying that are interesting. I love people-watching, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/i-love-to-write-down-things-i-notice-about-people-or-things-i-ve/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [Every time somebody tries to go in and reinvent what we do, it always ends up being more about technology and sets, and flash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/every-time-somebody-tries-to-go-in-and-reinvent-what-we-do-it-always/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [When it became clear that in fact my father was saying, "It will be interesting to see what you want to do when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/when-it-became-clear-that-in-fact-my-father-was-saying-it-will-be/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [There is a culture among academics to be obscure. If you're too clear, you can't be saying anything interesting. The issue isn't word length.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/there-is-a-culture-among-academics-to-be-obscure-if-you-re-too-clear/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [People have nothing to say, but they are afraid of saying nothing, so what they do say comes out flat and vapid and meaningless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/people-have-nothing-to-say-but-they-are-afraid-of-saying-nothing-so/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Why? If I’d run into her in the street, the first thing she would have said would have been, “What are you doing back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/why-if-i-d-run-into-her-in-the-street-the-first-thing-she-would-have/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [All I was afraid of is saying good-bye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/all-i-was-afraid-of-is-saying-good-bye/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I was never afraid of saying goodbye bcoz I was always gonna see them the next day at recess, Now I'm afraid of saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jezzswag/i-was-never-afraid-of-saying-goodbye-bcoz-i-was-always-gonna-see-them/) JezzSwaG > [I've always been afraid of saying no to people because I don't want them to be disappointed and dislike me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-ve-always-been-afraid-of-saying-no-to-people-because-i-don-t-want/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“What they were all afraid of saying, was that happiness is dirt cheap. You can have it for nothing. Beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-they-were-all-afraid-of-saying-was-that-happiness-is-dirt-cheap/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [People aren't afraid of saying I love you. They're afraid of hearing the response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/people-aren-t-afraid-of-saying-i-love-you-they-re-afraid-of-hearing/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I did a lot of talking - not as much background talking as a lot of people because I've never been someone who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-allen-bernero/i-did-a-lot-of-talking-not-as-much-background-talking-as-a-lot-of/) [Edward Allen Bernero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-allen-bernero/) > [The force one need to propose is directly proportional to fear of rejection but one step in propotion decreases fear. alwys don't be afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyakallo-lets-ela/the-force-one-need-to-propose-is-directly-proportional-to-fear-of/) [Nyakallo Lets'ela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyakallo-lets-ela/) > [“No one is afraid of heights, they're afraid of falling down. No one is afraid of saying I love you, they're afraid of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/no-one-is-afraid-of-heights-they-re-afraid-of-falling-down-no-one-is/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) ## More by Jon Lovett > [Most of my time at the White House, I wrote very unfunny speeches, but every year, I would work on the correspondents' dinner, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/most-of-my-time-at-the-white-house-i-wrote-very-unfunny-speeches-but/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-in-doubt-mock-the-powerful-not-the-powerless/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [I worked on one speech about the financial system that caused the Dow to drop, like, 200 points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/i-worked-on-one-speech-about-the-financial-system-that-caused-the-dow/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There is that definition of leadership that says, 'Leadership is convincing people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't have done because you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-is-that-definition-of-leadership-that-says-leadership-is/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['Veep' is a great satire of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/veep-is-a-great-satire-of-democracy/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Part of my job as a presidential speechwriter (along with great writers like Jon Favreau and David Axelrod) was finding that sliver where 'presidential'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/part-of-my-job-as-a-presidential-speechwriter-along-with-great/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There are a lot of heartbroken, anxious people that thought better of their country. We're heartbroken by how far Trump has gotten to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-are-a-lot-of-heartbroken-anxious-people-that-thought-better-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['1600 Penn' was a hit. It's 2018. Anything you want can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/1600-penn-was-a-hit-it-s-2018-anything-you-want-can-be-true/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [More and more people support equality for their gay friends and neighbors, and that is not because the 'Duck Dynasty' guy almost lost his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/more-and-more-people-support-equality-for-their-gay-friends-and/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [We need people to point out groupthink - We need people to point out stale, old, dumb thinking - and we sometimes need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-need-people-to-point-out-groupthink-we-need-people-to-point-out/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There's only so much mistrust we can take before things get much worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-s-only-so-much-mistrust-we-can-take-before-things-get-much-worse/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When I was a kid, all I knew about Michael Jackson was that he was crazy. He had a monkey named Bubbles and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-i-was-a-kid-all-i-knew-about-michael-jackson-was-that-he-was/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [The First Amendment's protections have always put a great deal of responsibility in our hands: not only to respect the power of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/the-first-amendment-s-protections-have-always-put-a-great-deal-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Trump is a raptor testing the fences, and he found weaknesses to escape and try things that would work, every single day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/trump-is-a-raptor-testing-the-fences-and-he-found-weaknesses-to/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) [Explore all 82 Jon Lovett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) Alejandro Taubas > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't want people to be afraid of saying something interesting on the off chance it's taken the wrong way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Lovett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-saying-something-interesting-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-saying-something-interesting-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jon-lovett-8245_chance_we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-say_3145416.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We don't want people to be afraid of saying something interesting on the off chance it's taken the wrong way.” — Jon Lovett", "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": "Jon Lovett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We don't want people to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-saying-something-interesting-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-don-t-want-people-to-be-afraid-of-saying-something-interesting-on/#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 } } ] } ```