--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never knowingly made a…" description: "\"I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.\" — Margaret Thatcher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg" --- # I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in… ![“I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.” quote by Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg) > “I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.” [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She claims she never gave a speech without controversy, highlighting her polarizing style **In simple terms:** All her speeches sparked debate Key Takeaway Expect controversy from strong voices Themes politics communication controversy Mood defiant confident Type political reflective When to use this quote - political debates - media interviews - public statements Key Concepts public discourse leadership Questions to Reflect On - Why might a leader embrace controversy? - Is controversy always negative? A Different Perspective Controversy can be intentional or unavoidable ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) [Controversial Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial-speech-1501560/) [Knowingly Non](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowingly-non-1869673/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Non Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-controversial-843571/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [“the First Amendment exists to protect controversial speech, not speech we love that ruffles no feathers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-controversial-speech-not-speech/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-could-anything-non-controversial-be-of-intellectual-interest-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I can imagine Iceland becoming a good place to run a controversial Web site. But... Iceland may find itself forced to defend controversial speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/i-can-imagine-iceland-becoming-a-good-place-to-run-a-controversial/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [When controversial speech can be taken offline through pressures on private intermediaries without any kind of due process, that is something we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/when-controversial-speech-can-be-taken-offline-through-pressures-on/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [My experience in government is that when things are non-controversial and beautifully coordinated, there is not much going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-experience-in-government-is-that-when-things-are-non-controversial/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any kind of restrictions put on free speech would have worse consequences than bullying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-starlight/any-kind-of-restrictions-put-on-free-speech-would-have-worse/) [Lady Starlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-starlight/) > [“No Hate Speech Online is a social media netiquette rule. Return hate in kind (ness) for proper netiquette. Love Muslims alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chiles/no-hate-speech-online-is-a-social-media-netiquette-rule-return-hate/) [David Chiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chiles/) > [Anderson sent me to give you this he said. I believe the subtext was kiss and makeup. This time I was sure I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-black/anderson-sent-me-to-give-you-this-he-said-i-believe-the-subtext-was/) [Jenna Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-black/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [I wasn't a kid growing up thinking, 'One day I'll get an Oscar and make a speech.' 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The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) ## More by Margaret Thatcher > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Ideally, when Christians meet, as Christians do, to take counsel together, their purpose is not ( or should not be) to ascertain what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/ideally-when-christians-meet-as-christians-do-to-take-counsel/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/if-it-s-me-against-48-i-feel-sorry-for-the-48/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [ \[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:\] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-asked-how-it-felt-to-be-a-female-prime-minister-i-don-t-know-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [It is sometimes said that because of our past we, as a people, expect too much and set our sights too high. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-is-sometimes-said-that-because-of-our-past-we-as-a-people-expect/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/unless-we-change-our-ways-and-our-direction-our-greatness-as-a-nation/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I don't think any woman in power really has a happy life unless she's got a large number of women friends ... because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-don-t-think-any-woman-in-power-really-has-a-happy-life-unless-she-s/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/what-is-success-i-think-it-is-a-mixture-of-having-a-flair-for-the/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Personal virtue is no substitute for political hard-headedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/personal-virtue-is-no-substitute-for-political-hard-headedness/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The Government wants a peaceful settlement. But we totally reject a peaceful sell-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-government-wants-a-peaceful-settlement-but-we-totally-reject-a/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We have made too much of one or two people, and we think that they can win or lose elections for us. Don't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/we-have-made-too-much-of-one-or-two-people-and-we-think-that-they-can/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I pay tribute to John Major's achievement in persuading the other 11 Community Heads of Government that they could move ahead to a Social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-pay-tribute-to-john-major-s-achievement-in-persuading-the-other-11/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Explore all 539 Margaret Thatcher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [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've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? 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No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Thatcher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77c/margaret-thatcher-463_communication_i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-contro_1781922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.” — Margaret Thatcher", "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": "Margaret Thatcher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have never knowingly made a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/#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 } } ] } ```