--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the written word is probably the…" description: "\"I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you have time to choose your words, to get your..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg" --- # I think the written word is probably the best medium of… ![“I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you have time to choose your words, to get your sentences exactly right. Whereas when you're being interviewed, say, you have to talk on the fly, you have to improvise, you can change sentences…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg) > “I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you have time to choose your words, to get your sentences exactly right. Whereas when you're being interviewed, say, you have to talk on the fly, you have to improvise, you can change sentences around, and they're not exactly right.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Written language allows careful thought and precise expression, unlike spontaneous spoken communication which can be error‑prone. **In simple terms:** Writing lets you edit; speaking is on the fly Key Takeaway .. writing over.. Themes writingwriting Mood analytical contemplative Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - cognition - language - editing Key Concepts communication reflection Practical Applications - academic writing - public speaking - media interviews Questions to Reflect On - How does editing shape your ideas? - When is spontaneity more valuable than precision? A Different Perspective Spoken words can be authentic but lack polish. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Choose Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-words-465146/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Communication Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication-time-3354869/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Medium Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medium-communication-1911430/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-word/) ## Related quotes > [We spend roughly 60 percent of our communication time listening, but were not very good at it. We retain just 25 percent of what we hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/we-spend-roughly-60-percent-of-our-communication-time-listening-but/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [I see architecture as a form of communication over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimenez-lai/i-see-architecture-as-a-form-of-communication-over-time/) [Jimenez Lai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimenez-lai/) > [“although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication—from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/although-culture-is-a-creation-of-speech-it-is-recreated-anew-by/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Thus it is that the Internet, once heralded as an exciting new medium of communication, is now little more than a vast mail-order catalogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/thus-it-is-that-the-internet-once-heralded-as-an-exciting-new-medium/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [I do not pretend to know precisely what is on foot there; but I think it pretty evident that there is a very free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-f-wade/i-do-not-pretend-to-know-precisely-what-is-on-foot-there-but-i-think/) [Benjamin F. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-f-wade/) > [Language is material to shape and mold, not only a transparent or invisible medium for communication, business contracts, or telling stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/language-is-material-to-shape-and-mold-not-only-a-transparent-or/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [I think that cinema is medium of communication. It's as valid as novels or fine art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/i-think-that-cinema-is-medium-of-communication-it-s-as-valid-as/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [English is the medium of communication for people all over India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aparna-sen/english-is-the-medium-of-communication-for-people-all-over-india/) [Aparna Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aparna-sen/) > [She could give herself up to the written word as naturally as a good dancer to music or a fine swimmer to water. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/she-could-give-herself-up-to-the-written-word-as-naturally-as-a-good/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [The maker of a sentence launches out into the infinite...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-maker-of-a-sentence-launches-out-into-the-infinite/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“If I could have been a cowgirl, I might have never written a word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-haines/if-i-could-have-been-a-cowgirl-i-might-have-never-written-a-word/) [Carolyn Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-haines/) > [I appreciate the written word and spoken word more, but Atonement sort of established so much of me. It was a character that didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/i-appreciate-the-written-word-and-spoken-word-more-but-atonement-sort/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [The attitude of the actor is his interpretation of what he reads, and the written word is what creates the role in the actor's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-barry/the-attitude-of-the-actor-is-his-interpretation-of-what-he-reads-and/) [Gene Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-barry/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Best quotes > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [It's no wonder Pep is one of the best coaches in the world. When I knew I could work with him I was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ederson/it-s-no-wonder-pep-is-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-the-world-when-i/) [Ederson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ederson/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [Life is where you love people and use things not use people and love things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/life-is-where-you-love-people-and-use-things-not-use-people-and-love/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) [Gene Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-scott/) > [I'm looking to fight the best guys in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-rodriguez/i-m-looking-to-fight-the-best-guys-in-the-world/) [Yair Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-rodriguez/) > [Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/batley-and-spen-has-a-high-proportion-of-people-working-in/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Any position I was going to be in, I was going to make the best of it. I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/any-position-i-was-going-to-be-in-i-was-going-to-make-the-best-of-it/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) [Browse all 21,674 Best quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you have time to choose your words, to get your sentences exactly right. Whereas when you're being interviewed, say, you have to talk on the fly, you have to improvise, you can change sentences around, and they're not exactly right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the-best-medium-of-communication/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the-best-medium-of-communication/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/richard-dawkins-115_best_i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the_2130916.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the written word is probably the best medium of communication because you have time to reflect, you…” — Richard Dawkins", "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": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the written word is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the-best-medium-of-communication/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-written-word-is-probably-the-best-medium-of-communication/#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 } } ] } ```