--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tell a man that he is putting on a stage…" description: "\"Tell a man that he is putting on a stage performance in order to get what he wants, and he will irritably reject your observation. Why? Because most pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/vernon-howard-2173_cunning_tell-a-man-that-he-is-putting-on-a-stage_2407808.png" --- # Tell a man that he is putting on a stage performance in… ![“Tell a man that he is putting on a stage performance in order to get what he wants, and he will irritably reject your observation. Why? Because most people go through life as cunning actors with a permanent horror of getting found out.” quote by Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/vernon-howard-2173_cunning_tell-a-man-that-he-is-putting-on-a-stage_2407808.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/vernon-howard-2173_cunning_tell-a-man-that-he-is-putting-on-a-stage_2407808.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/vernon-howard-2173_cunning_tell-a-man-that-he-is-putting-on-a-stage_2407808.png) > “Tell a man that he is putting on a stage performance in order to get what he wants, and he will irritably reject your observation. Why? Because most people go through life as cunning actors with a permanent horror of getting found out.” [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often hide true motives, fearing exposure, leading to defensive reactions. **In simple terms:** People reject when they feel exposed. Key Takeaway Practice honest communication. Themes psychology trust self‑presentation defensiveness Mood cautious reflective Type advice psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - public speaking Key Concepts authenticity social perception ego defense Questions to Reflect On - Why do we fear being seen as actors? - How can we foster openness? A Different Perspective Not everyone is consciously deceptive; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cunning/) [Cunning Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cunning-actors-6051746/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-cunning-3244600/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Permanent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanent/) [Reject Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reject-observation-6051747/) [Stage performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage-performance/) [Tell Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-man/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [“This treachery of life is too cunning to be abandoned but the anguish of being in it demands negligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riyana-baboo/this-treachery-of-life-is-too-cunning-to-be-abandoned-but-the-anguish/) [Riyana Baboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riyana-baboo/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Nothing feels worse than having to break the stage down before the performance, and I mean nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/nothing-feels-worse-than-having-to-break-the-stage-down-before-the/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [My first stage performance was when I was just four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shamna-kasim/my-first-stage-performance-was-when-i-was-just-four/) [Shamna Kasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shamna-kasim/) > [If your in business your in show business. The moment you get to work your on stage. Give your performance of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/if-your-in-business-your-in-show-business-the-moment-you-get-to-work/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [My first ever stage performance was in Edinburgh in 1960.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davy-jones/my-first-ever-stage-performance-was-in-edinburgh-in-1960/) [Davy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davy-jones/) > [ \[On Katharine Hepburn's stage performance:\] She ran the whole gamut of emotions, from A to B. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/on-katharine-hepburn-s-stage-performance-she-ran-the-whole-gamut-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There is a remarkable nimbleness of style, a balancing act of tone, in Voltaire, which is hard to bring off on stage. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ravenhill/there-is-a-remarkable-nimbleness-of-style-a-balancing-act-of-tone-in/) [Mark Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ravenhill/) > [People come up to me as I leave the stage after a performance and tell me tey saw my mother onstage with me every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-luft/people-come-up-to-me-as-i-leave-the-stage-after-a-performance-and/) [Lorna Luft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-luft/) > [Going on stage is a performance, it's an act; you're playing a version of yourself. I don't give it a lot of thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/going-on-stage-is-a-performance-it-s-an-act-you-re-playing-a-version/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [Does the real thing ever have the perfection of a stage performance?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/does-the-real-thing-ever-have-the-perfection-of-a-stage-performance/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [So what this is is us, our personalities refined down on to a stage performance. In other words, the way we play is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/so-what-this-is-is-us-our-personalities-refined-down-on-to-a-stage/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [I gave my first stage performance at 7.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonita-gandhi/i-gave-my-first-stage-performance-at-7/) [Jonita Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonita-gandhi/) > [Every medium has its advantages and weaknesses and there are many things I can put down on paper that I might not be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/every-medium-has-its-advantages-and-weaknesses-and-there-are-many/) [Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/) > [If I produce it, I will stage it as a performance. A small audience will be invited; rehearsals of the sections will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dixon/if-i-produce-it-i-will-stage-it-as-a-performance-a-small-audience/) [Bill Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dixon/) ## More by Vernon Howard > [“A self-working individual will be sitting around home one day when the startling thought occurs, “Here I am, sitting around, doing nothing of interest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/a-self-working-individual-will-be-sitting-around-home-one-day-when/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [No one on earth can hurt you, unless you accept the hurt in your own mind. . . The problem is not other people;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/no-one-on-earth-can-hurt-you-unless-you-accept-the-hurt-in-your-own/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [To change what you get you must change who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/to-change-what-you-get-you-must-change-who-you-are/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Genuine kindness is not what we do, it is what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/genuine-kindness-is-not-what-we-do-it-is-what-we-are/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [When told that man lives in delusion everyone thinks of himself as the exception; hence his delusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/when-told-that-man-lives-in-delusion-everyone-thinks-of-himself-as/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [It is against the law to permit weak people to steal your strength. Never permit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/it-is-against-the-law-to-permit-weak-people-to-steal-your-strength/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Men have the illusion of having a duty to make the world spin properly, which is precisely what makes it wobble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/men-have-the-illusion-of-having-a-duty-to-make-the-world-spin/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Just as surely as distress must follow self-deceit, healing must follow self-honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/just-as-surely-as-distress-must-follow-self-deceit-healing-must/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Quit thinking that you must halt before the barrier of inner negativity. You need not. You can crash through... whatever we see a negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/quit-thinking-that-you-must-halt-before-the-barrier-of-inner/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [One false idea is that anyone can hurt you. Events can ruin your reputation, take your money, mistreat you, revenge itself upon you, deceive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/one-false-idea-is-that-anyone-can-hurt-you-events-can-ruin-your/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Don't try to be unafraid. That is impossible. Rather, go ahead while being afraid. That is the entire secret for abolishing fear. The Supermind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/don-t-try-to-be-unafraid-that-is-impossible-rather-go-ahead-while/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [The only way to do something truly important every day is to seek to understand yourself every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-only-way-to-do-something-truly-important-every-day-is-to-seek-to/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Make it absolutely clear to yourself what you want from other people. That is really half the secret for drawing your desire to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/make-it-absolutely-clear-to-yourself-what-you-want-from-other-people/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [The only reason you do not do great things is because you timidly cling to small things. Will you let loose of small things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-only-reason-you-do-not-do-great-things-is-because-you-timidly/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) [Explore all 181 Vernon Howard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) ## More Cunning quotes > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist injustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-humanity-and-sincerity-which-dispose-men-to-resist-injustice-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [It is sometimes necessary to play the fool to avoid being deceived by cunning men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-sometimes-necessary-to-play-the-fool-to-avoid-being-deceived-by/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Treason and murder ever kept together, As two yoke-devils sworn to either's purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause That admiration did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/treason-and-murder-ever-kept-together-as-two-yoke-devils-sworn-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Till swollen with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/till-swollen-with-cunning-of-a-self-conceit-his-waxen-wings-did-mount/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Stratagem is the right hand of cunning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-curtis/stratagem-is-the-right-hand-of-cunning/) [George William Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-curtis/) > [“When a man possesses the innocence of a child, we call him a fool. When a child possesses the cunning of a man, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/when-a-man-possesses-the-innocence-of-a-child-we-call-him-a-fool-when/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Would you like to sit?" Kellen asked her. "You'd better do it soon," Owen whispered close to her ear, "or I'm going to bend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/would-you-like-to-sit-kellen-asked-her-you-d-better-do-it-soon-owen/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [I am defined by my will to survive, not by intelligence or cunning or money or good looks. The Creator didn't see her way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/i-am-defined-by-my-will-to-survive-not-by-intelligence-or-cunning-or/) [Jaune Quick–to–See Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/) > [A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in-its-own-cunning-and-is-the/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) [Browse all 535 Cunning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cunning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tell a man that he is putting on a stage performance in order to get what he wants, and he will irritably reject your observation. Why? 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