--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: you had said those things to him, you…" description: "\"“you had said those things to him, you understand, you would have heard some truths in return. If you had been frank you would have elicited frankness...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89a/rachel-cusk-3482_frankness_you-had-said-those-things-to-him-you-und_2767666.png" --- # you had said those things to him, you understand, you… ![“you had said those things to him, you understand, you would have heard some truths in return. If you had been frank you would have elicited frankness.” quote by Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89a/rachel-cusk-3482_frankness_you-had-said-those-things-to-him-you-und_2767666.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89a/rachel-cusk-3482_frankness_you-had-said-those-things-to-him-you-und_2767666.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89a/rachel-cusk-3482_frankness_you-had-said-those-things-to-him-you-und_2767666.png) > ““you had said those things to him, you understand, you would have heard some truths in return. If you had been frank you would have elicited frankness.”” [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Honesty invites honesty; being frank elicits truthful responses. **In simple terms:** Frankness be frankness. Key Takeaway Speak openly to receive openness. Themes communication authenticity truth dialogue Mood thoughtful analytical Type interpersonal philosophical When to use this quote - team meetings - counseling sessions - personal relationships - negotiations Key Concepts psychological safety reciprocity interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How to foster safe honest dialogue? - What barriers prevent frank communication? A Different Perspective People may resist frankness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elicited Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elicited-frankness-3218000/) [Frank Elicited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frank-elicited-3218001/) [Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankness/) [Heard Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-truths-3218002/) [Said Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-things/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women and that you are always trying to purge with what you call frankness. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/the-disgust-that-exists-indelibly-between-men-and-women-and-that-you/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“mutual frankness that she could work out who she herself was and what she actually wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/mutual-frankness-that-she-could-work-out-who-she-herself-was-and-what/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/life-is-too-short-to-be-little-man-is-never-so-manly-as-when-he-feels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Frankness is a jewel; only the young can afford it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/frankness-is-a-jewel-only-the-young-can-afford-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I have a different idea of elegance. I don't dress like a fop, it's true, but my moral grooming is impeccable. I never appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-rostand/i-have-a-different-idea-of-elegance-i-don-t-dress-like-a-fop-it-s/) [Edmond Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-rostand/) > [We are franker towards others than towards ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-are-franker-towards-others-than-towards-ourselves/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are too many false things in the world, and I don't want to be a part of them. If you say what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-bench/there-are-too-many-false-things-in-the-world-and-i-don-t-want-to-be-a/) [Johnny Bench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-bench/) > [Revealing yourself, physically or emotionally, to cast and crew is frequently uncomfortable. But it is essential if you want to to tell the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/revealing-yourself-physically-or-emotionally-to-cast-and-crew-is/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: Frankness is the child of honesty and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of-2/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Oh yes, I am frequently driven to an enraged frenzy by the blatantly crass actions of others. But to be painfully honest, that anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/oh-yes-i-am-frequently-driven-to-an-enraged-frenzy-by-the-blatantly/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [...and yet could swear it was just then that I fell in love. It wasn't, of course, simply the onions -- it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/and-yet-could-swear-it-was-just-then-that-i-fell-in-love-it-wasn-t-of/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What was the point, I told myself, of trying to explain to people who would never understand? Frankness just stirred up trouble amoung women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-dalby/what-was-the-point-i-told-myself-of-trying-to-explain-to-people-who/) [Liza Dalby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-dalby/) > [The love of their country is with them only a mode of flattering its master; as soon as they think that master can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-custine/the-love-of-their-country-is-with-them-only-a-mode-of-flattering-its/) [Marquis De Custine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-custine/) > [The 'frankness' of people sunk below shame is a very cheap frankness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-frankness-of-people-sunk-below-shame-is-a-very-cheap-frankness/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) ## More by Rachel Cusk > [A creative writing workshop will contain students whose ambitions and abilities, whose conceptions of literature itself, are so diverse that what they have in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-creative-writing-workshop-will-contain-students-whose-ambitions-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“If a man had a nasty side to his character, she wanted to get to it immediately and confront it. She didn’t want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-a-man-had-a-nasty-side-to-his-character-she-wanted-to-get-to-it/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [If I know somebody is coming 'round, it is incredibly difficult for me to work because I'm waiting for this interruption - even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-i-know-somebody-is-coming-round-it-is-incredibly-difficult-for-me/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [I felt that I could swim for miles, out into the ocean: a desire for freedom, an impulse to move, tugged at me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-felt-that-i-could-swim-for-miles-out-into-the-ocean-a-desire-for/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [The creativity of childhood was often surrendered amid feelings of unworthiness. So the idea that others are demanding to be given it back -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/the-creativity-of-childhood-was-often-surrendered-amid-feelings-of/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [A neighbor is something that belongs to the stable world of home life, the thing that lives next door to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-neighbor-is-something-that-belongs-to-the-stable-world-of-home-life/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Help is dangerous because it exists outside the human economy: the only payment for help is gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/help-is-dangerous-because-it-exists-outside-the-human-economy-the/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [A feminist man is a bit like a vegetarian: it's the humanitarian principle he's defending, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-feminist-man-is-a-bit-like-a-vegetarian-it-s-the-humanitarian/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Feminism remains something that needs to be explained to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/feminism-remains-something-that-needs-to-be-explained-to-people/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“At the time, he had got rid of her so efficiently and so suavely that she had felt almost reassured even as she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/at-the-time-he-had-got-rid-of-her-so-efficiently-and-so-suavely-that/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“From the distance of England the Italian cuisine seems to be all things to all people. It does not expect you to bend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/from-the-distance-of-england-the-italian-cuisine-seems-to-be-all/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [You could time a suburban story by your watch: it lasts as long as it takes a small furry animal that's lonely to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/you-could-time-a-suburban-story-by-your-watch-it-lasts-as-long-as-it/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [It is expected that a children's story will raise a difficulty and then resolve it: increasingly, this resolution is so prompt and so resounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/it-is-expected-that-a-children-s-story-will-raise-a-difficulty-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Human beings have a need, generally, to destroy things. The Freudian principle of civilisation is correct. There's always, always a difference between the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/human-beings-have-a-need-generally-to-destroy-things-the-freudian/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [I don't think I knew that you could be a novelist. I think a lot of my students are in the same condition. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-don-t-think-i-knew-that-you-could-be-a-novelist-i-think-a-lot-of-my/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) [Explore all 128 Rachel Cusk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) ## More Frankness quotes > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [The 'frankness' of people sunk below shame is a very cheap frankness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-frankness-of-people-sunk-below-shame-is-a-very-cheap-frankness/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The love of their country is with them only a mode of flattering its master; as soon as they think that master can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-custine/the-love-of-their-country-is-with-them-only-a-mode-of-flattering-its/) [Marquis De Custine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-custine/) > [“What was the point, I told myself, of trying to explain to people who would never understand? Frankness just stirred up trouble amoung women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-dalby/what-was-the-point-i-told-myself-of-trying-to-explain-to-people-who/) [Liza Dalby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-dalby/) > [...and yet could swear it was just then that I fell in love. It wasn't, of course, simply the onions -- it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/and-yet-could-swear-it-was-just-then-that-i-fell-in-love-it-wasn-t-of/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Oh yes, I am frequently driven to an enraged frenzy by the blatantly crass actions of others. But to be painfully honest, that anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/oh-yes-i-am-frequently-driven-to-an-enraged-frenzy-by-the-blatantly/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: Frankness is the child of honesty and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of-2/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [Revealing yourself, physically or emotionally, to cast and crew is frequently uncomfortable. But it is essential if you want to to tell the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/revealing-yourself-physically-or-emotionally-to-cast-and-crew-is/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [There are too many false things in the world, and I don't want to be a part of them. If you say what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-bench/there-are-too-many-false-things-in-the-world-and-i-don-t-want-to-be-a/) [Johnny Bench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-bench/) > [We are franker towards others than towards ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-are-franker-towards-others-than-towards-ourselves/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I have a different idea of elegance. I don't dress like a fop, it's true, but my moral grooming is impeccable. I never appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-rostand/i-have-a-different-idea-of-elegance-i-don-t-dress-like-a-fop-it-s/) [Edmond Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-rostand/) > [Frankness is a jewel; only the young can afford it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/frankness-is-a-jewel-only-the-young-can-afford-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/life-is-too-short-to-be-little-man-is-never-so-manly-as-when-he-feels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [A marriage based on full confidence, based on complete and unqualified frankness on both sides; they are not keeping anything back; there's no deception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/a-marriage-based-on-full-confidence-based-on-complete-and-unqualified/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [“The mutual preference of frankness over flattery is what leads to iron sharpening iron.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torry-martin/the-mutual-preference-of-frankness-over-flattery-is-what-leads-to/) [Torry Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torry-martin/) [Browse all 82 Frankness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“you had said those things to him, you understand, you would have heard some truths in return. 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