--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men resort to talking only when they…" description: "\"Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.\" — Lin Yutang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png" --- # Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to… ![“Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.” quote by Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png) > “Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.” [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People speak only when they lack the power to impose their beliefs on others. **In simple terms:** Speech replaces power. Key Takeaway Cultivate influence beyond words. Themes communication power dynamics conviction silence Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - leadership - negotiation - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy political theory social behavior Questions to Reflect On - When is silence more powerful? - How do you gain influence without speech? 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England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Las Vegas is a resort whose two chief sources of income are seven and eleven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/las-vegas-is-a-resort-whose-two-chief-sources-of-income-are-seven-and/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) ## More by Lin Yutang > [There are no books in this world that everybody must read, but only books that a person must read at a certain time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/there-are-no-books-in-this-world-that-everybody-must-read-but-only/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [And if the reader has no taste for what he reads, all the time is wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/and-if-the-reader-has-no-taste-for-what-he-reads-all-the-time-is/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [“Much as I like reasonable persons, I hate completely rational beings. For that reason, I am always scared and ill at ease when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/much-as-i-like-reasonable-persons-i-hate-completely-rational-beings/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [An educated man is one who has the loves and hatreds together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/an-educated-man-is-one-who-has-the-loves-and-hatreds-together/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [The best that we can hope for in this life is that we shall not have sons and grandsons of whom we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/the-best-that-we-can-hope-for-in-this-life-is-that-we-shall-not-have/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [By association with nature's enormities, a man's heart may truly grow big also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/by-association-with-nature-s-enormities-a-man-s-heart-may-truly-grow/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Art is both creation and recreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/art-is-both-creation-and-recreation/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Now it is characteristic of play that one plays without reason and there must be no reason for it. 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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": "Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lin Yutang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-haven-t-the-power-to-enforce/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conviction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-haven-t-the-power-to-enforce/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lin-yutang-2491_conviction_men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-hav_2614818.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.” — Lin Yutang", "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": "Lin Yutang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men resort to talking only when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-haven-t-the-power-to-enforce/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/men-resort-to-talking-only-when-they-haven-t-the-power-to-enforce/#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 } } ] } ```