--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Speech is power: speech is to persuade…" description: "\"Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png" --- # Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to… ![“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png) > “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Speech can persuade, convert, and compel, moving others from bad to good sense. **In simple terms:** Words can change minds and actions. Key Takeaway Use speech to inspire positive change. Themes communication influence ethics Mood inspirational reflective Type rhetorical ethical When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - activism - education Key Concepts rhetoric persuasion moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure ethical persuasion? - What makes speech compelling? A Different Perspective Manipulation is a risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/) [Power Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-speech-392921/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-persuade-2328759/) [Speech Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-power-1566422/) ## Related quotes > [Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to-convert-to-compel/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I have long suspected that the power of speech is not a power at all, but a mere form of hysteria from which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corra-may-harris/i-have-long-suspected-that-the-power-of-speech-is-not-a-power-at-all/) [Corra May Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corra-may-harris/) > [Particularly the broad masses of the people can be moved only by the power of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/particularly-the-broad-masses-of-the-people-can-be-moved-only-by-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/speech-has-power-words-do-not-fade-what-starts-out-as-a-sound-ends-in/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [“How is power of speech (vacchanbud) attained? It is when, not a single word is uttered to make fun of others; when not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-is-power-of-speech-vacchanbud-attained-it-is-when-not-a-single/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“The west has fiscalised its basic power relationships through a web of contracts, loans, shareholdings, bank holdings and so on. In such an environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-west-has-fiscalised-its-basic-power-relationships-through-a-web-2/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Some people only speak of freedom of speech while they're out of power. Once they're in power, they're ruthless in suppressing the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/some-people-only-speak-of-freedom-of-speech-while-they-re-out-of/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In all sincere speech there is power, not necessarily great power, but as much as the speaker is capable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/in-all-sincere-speech-there-is-power-not-necessarily-great-power-but/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [“How can the power of speech remain when you lie for your own ‘safeside’?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-can-the-power-of-speech-remain-when-you-lie-for-your-own-safeside/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish I gotta holler just to be heard With every word, I drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda-3/the-problem-is-i-got-a-lot-of-brains-but-no-polish-i-gotta-holler/) [Lin Manuel-Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda-3/) > [“In 1789 the French rebelled and found an emperor. The Americans found their freedom from the British and enslaved the Africans. The Arab Spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-north/in-1789-the-french-rebelled-and-found-an-emperor-the-americans-found/) [Claire North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-north/) > [She had lost the art of conversation but not, unfortunately, the power of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/she-had-lost-the-art-of-conversation-but-not-unfortunately-the-power/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/he-claims-that-the-power-of-producing-and-appreciating-it-existed/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [A good symbol is the best argument, and is a missionary to persuade thousands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-good-symbol-is-the-best-argument-and-is-a-missionary-to-persuade/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The power which has always started the greatest religious and political avalanches in history rolling has from time immemorial been the magic power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/the-power-which-has-always-started-the-greatest-religious-and-2/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. 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": "Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to-convert-to-compel-it-is-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to-convert-to-compel-it-is-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7c/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_communication_speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to_2648357.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Speech is power: speech is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to-convert-to-compel-it-is-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-power-speech-is-to-persuade-to-convert-to-compel-it-is-to/#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 } } ] } ```