--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve always believed that the way you…" description: "\"I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg" --- # I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience… ![“I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg) > “I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Impact on an audience matters more than its size; quality of influence outweighs quantity. **In simple terms:** Influence matters more than numbers. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful connection. Themes influence audience quality impact Mood thoughtful inspirational Type motivational practical When to use this quote - public speaking - marketing - teaching - performing Key Concepts communication psychology leadership Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure impact? - What strategies deepen audience connection? A Different Perspective Large audiences can dilute personal connection if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ## Related quotes > [There’s nothing more embarrassing than a person who tries to guess what the great American public would like, makes a compromise for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-nothing-more-embarrassing-than-a-person-who-tries-to-guess/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [You can't change the people around you. You can only change the way they affect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-can-t-change-the-people-around-you-you-can-only-change-the-way/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [The worst thing you can do to a filmmaker is to walk out of his film and go, 'That was a nice movie.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/the-worst-thing-you-can-do-to-a-filmmaker-is-to-walk-out-of-his-film/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [In this type of cinema, whether working with actors or non-actors, as much as you do direct them, if you allow yourself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/in-this-type-of-cinema-whether-working-with-actors-or-non-actors-as/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [When it's a moral grey zone, the audience has to think about what they feel and what they think is right or wrong. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/when-it-s-a-moral-grey-zone-the-audience-has-to-think-about-what-they/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [Comedy and horror are cousins; they're related. They both come from storytellers who want to specifically affect the audience and elicit specific reactions during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reitman/comedy-and-horror-are-cousins-they-re-related-they-both-come-from/) [Jason Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reitman/) > [Even if an episode is self-contained, the preceding episodes always affect how the audience takes it in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiro-murai/even-if-an-episode-is-self-contained-the-preceding-episodes-always/) [Hiro Murai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiro-murai/) > [Yes, the audience is so important to Negro music, especially the element of call and response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-shepp/yes-the-audience-is-so-important-to-negro-music-especially-the/) [Archie Shepp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-shepp/) > [“Determining who the members of your audience are is the most important piece in the business puzzle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cendrine-marrouat/determining-who-the-members-of-your-audience-are-is-the-most/) [Cendrine Marrouat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cendrine-marrouat/) > [The ones that work out really and ones that become something to the audience, those are the most important people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/the-ones-that-work-out-really-and-ones-that-become-something-to-the/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [The concept of who your audience is becomes more important than your site. Sometimes you can be commissioned to do a piece in Strasburg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/the-concept-of-who-your-audience-is-becomes-more-important-than-your/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [I do believe in that thing about the reading audience being very important to the formation of the novel at its birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/i-do-believe-in-that-thing-about-the-reading-audience-being-very/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [The magic in performing as an entertaining ventriloquist happens when the characters come to life and the interaction between the separate personalities on stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dunham/the-magic-in-performing-as-an-entertaining-ventriloquist-happens-when/) [Jeff Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dunham/) > [An audience is so important. I would never have had the guts to dub in that big a laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desi-arnaz/an-audience-is-so-important-i-would-never-have-had-the-guts-to-dub-in/) [Desi Arnaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desi-arnaz/) > [The experience you're going to take the audience on is as important as the story you're trying to tell. And that experience needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/the-experience-you-re-going-to-take-the-audience-on-is-as-important/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Always believe quotes > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [I've always believed that humans are good at heart. But there's always the exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carlson/i-ve-always-believed-that-humans-are-good-at-heart-but-there-s-always/) [Amy Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carlson/) > [I've always believed that service to others is rent we pay for our time on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-ve-always-believed-that-service-to-others-is-rent-we-pay-for-our/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I've always believed that the desire must come from within, not as a result of being driven by coaches or parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-fraser/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-desire-must-come-from-within-not-as-a/) [Dawn Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-fraser/) > [I always believe in doing new things and using new materials that I have never used or that I didn't like for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miuccia-prada/i-always-believe-in-doing-new-things-and-using-new-materials-that-i/) [Miuccia Prada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miuccia-prada/) > [The messaging campaign that stigmatized the term feminist definitely worked on me when I was a teenager. I always believed in equality, but there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-west/the-messaging-campaign-that-stigmatized-the-term-feminist-definitely/) [Lindy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-west/) > [I have always believed that anybody with a little guts and the desire to apply himself can make it, can make anything he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-shoemaker/i-have-always-believed-that-anybody-with-a-little-guts-and-the-desire/) [Bill Shoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-shoemaker/) > [So like any football or basketball coach, you always always believe you're going to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/so-like-any-football-or-basketball-coach-you-always-always-believe/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [I've always believed that a good twist is one that, when it is presented to the audience, half of them say, 'I saw that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/i-ve-always-believed-that-a-good-twist-is-one-that-when-it-is/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [We hate guys who date more than one woman at a time. I've always believed that what's unacceptable in one sex should, by definition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/we-hate-guys-who-date-more-than-one-woman-at-a-time-i-ve-always/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [Just always believe in yourself. "Champions adjust." It's a line I learned from Billie Jean King, and sometimes your dream adjusts. Be willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/just-always-believe-in-yourself-champions-adjust-it-s-a-line-i/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [The hardest thing to get is true emotion. I always believe you need to earn that with the audience. You can't just tell them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/the-hardest-thing-to-get-is-true-emotion-i-always-believe-you-need-to/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [I have always believed that the ultimate purpose of economic policies and development policy is to meet the basic needs of our people. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/i-have-always-believed-that-the-ultimate-purpose-of-economic-policies/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [Whatever distrust we may have of the sincerity of those who converse with us, we always believe they will tell us more truth than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/whatever-distrust-we-may-have-of-the-sincerity-of-those-who-converse/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [One of my quests from the beginning has been to inform people, educate people, sort of train people, if you will, to spot liberalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/one-of-my-quests-from-the-beginning-has-been-to-inform-people-educate/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) Browse all 397 Always believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.” — Tom Waits", "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": "Tom Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’ve always believed that the way...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/#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 } } ] } ```