--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best that can be said for anybody is…" description: "\"The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.\" — William Saroyan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg" --- # The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you… ![“The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.” quote by William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg) > “The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.” [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Misunderstanding others often stems from seeing them through a favorable lens. **In simple terms:** We often misread people positively. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about others’ motives. Themes misunderstanding empathy perception Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - friendships - teamwork - conflict resolution Key Concepts communication cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions have you made about someone? - How can you see a fuller picture? A Different Perspective Overly favorable views can blind us to truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misunderstood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstood/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-others/) ## Related quotes > [Scientology is probably one of the most misunderstood things, and it's sad that it's so misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/scientology-is-probably-one-of-the-most-misunderstood-things-and-it-s/) [Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/) > [I'm probably one of the most misunderstood people in the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/i-m-probably-one-of-the-most-misunderstood-people-in-the-league/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-guess-i-should-warn-you-if-i-turn-out-to-be-particularly-clear-you/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [If I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/if-i-turn-out-to-be-particularly-clear-you-ve-probably-misunderstood/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some of us are more favorably disposed than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/some-of-us-are-more-favorably-disposed-than-others/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“You help far more when you depict a person favorably than instruct its weaknesses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-help-far-more-when-you-depict-a-person-favorably-than-instruct/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I can easily ignore my detractors and feel the people who respond favorably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-can-easily-ignore-my-detractors-and-feel-the-people-who-respond/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [Positiveness of soul is favorably gained through the love nature, rather than through mental prowess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positiveness-of-soul-is-favorably-gained-through-the-love-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The tavern will compare favorably with the church.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-tavern-will-compare-favorably-with-the-church/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“My dad said it best when he said, “John, on your deathbed you will never wish you spent more time at the office.” So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/my-dad-said-it-best-when-he-said-john-on-your-deathbed-you-will-never/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [The best that can be said of my life so far is that it has been industrious and the best that can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mitchell/the-best-that-can-be-said-of-my-life-so-far-is-that-it-has-been/) [Maria Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mitchell/) > [The best that can be said of you is that you got saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-best-that-can-be-said-of-you-is-that-you-got-saved/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Tom Browkaw said it best. He said NBC could survive without him or the rest of the news division, but not Nancy Fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/tom-browkaw-said-it-best-he-said-nbc-could-survive-without-him-or-the/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [I never said I was the best, but I never said I wouldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yackeline-cisneros/i-never-said-i-was-the-best-but-i-never-said-i-wouldn-t-be/) Yackeline Cisneros > [Look your best - who said love is blind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/look-your-best-who-said-love-is-blind/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) ## More by William Saroyan > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [The basic truth of all things, as nearly as we may ever dream of determining and knowing this truth, is form, that which is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-basic-truth-of-all-things-as-nearly-as-we-may-ever-dream-of/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This is a hell of a night. I don't want to leave it just to go to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-a-hell-of-a-night-i-don-t-want-to-leave-it-just-to-go-to-sleep/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Americans still believe they are cut out to be successful-in everything: love, love-making, luck, luck-giving, money-making, sense-making, cancer-avoiding, clothes-wearing, car-driving, and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/americans-still-believe-they-are-cut-out-to-be-successful-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I can't decide for you whether or not you have got to write, but if anything in the world, war, or pestilence, or famine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-can-t-decide-for-you-whether-or-not-you-have-got-to-write-but-if/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [He paints for the blind, and we are the blind, and he lets us see for sure what we saw long ago but weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/he-paints-for-the-blind-and-we-are-the-blind-and-he-lets-us-see-for/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-am-interested-in-madness-i-believe-it-is-the-biggest-thing-in-the/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Two years ago your father died, Ulysses. But as long as we are alive, as long as we are together, as long as two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/two-years-ago-your-father-died-ulysses-but-as-long-as-we-are-alive-as/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Cowards are nice, they're interesting, they're gentle, they wouldn't think of shooting down people in a parade from a tower. They want to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/cowards-are-nice-they-re-interesting-they-re-gentle-they-wouldn-t/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [In the time of your life, live - so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/in-the-time-of-your-life-live-so-that-in-that-good-time-there-shall/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [San Francisco is a world to explore. It is a place where the heart can go on a delightful adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/san-francisco-is-a-world-to-explore-it-is-a-place-where-the-heart-can/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Even after you've won fame and fortune, every time you write you've got to write, there's no shortcut, you have to start your career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/even-after-you-ve-won-fame-and-fortune-every-time-you-write-you-ve/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose history is ended, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-should-like-to-see-any-power-of-the-world-destroy-this-race-this/) [WILLIAM SAROYAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [There could be no extreme vanity in my recognition of myself, if in fact there could be any at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/there-could-be-no-extreme-vanity-in-my-recognition-of-myself-if-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This sense of being out of time has driven thousands of people from their homes into moving-picture theaters where new universes appear before them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-sense-of-being-out-of-time-has-driven-thousands-of-people-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) [Explore all 207 William Saroyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## More Misunderstood quotes > [Failure's relative. I've always felt, even early on, if I lose the freedom to fail, something's not right about that. It's how you treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/failure-s-relative-i-ve-always-felt-even-early-on-if-i-lose-the/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Tell me that I misunderstood a joke, but don't tell me that my choice of cravat is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-niven/tell-me-that-i-misunderstood-a-joke-but-don-t-tell-me-that-my-choice/) [David Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-niven/) > [Teenagers: The most misunderstood people on earth. Treated like children and expected to act like adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teenagers-the-most-misunderstood-people-on-earth-treated-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was so unsuccessful for so long. I was used to the word no. I was used to you're not good enough or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamar-braxton/i-was-so-unsuccessful-for-so-long-i-was-used-to-the-word-no-i-was/) [Tamar Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamar-braxton/) > [I love Crowley for being an audacious man at certain point in time. I think he's greatly misunderstood. He was a good guy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-renck/i-love-crowley-for-being-an-audacious-man-at-certain-point-in-time-i/) [Johan Renck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-renck/) > [I always feel like I've been slightly misunderstood. As a woman, you get judged for appearances or things like that I don't really care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/i-always-feel-like-i-ve-been-slightly-misunderstood-as-a-woman-you/) [Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/) > [Nothing can prepare you for living or working with a sociopathic serial bully. It is the most devastating, draining, misunderstood, and ultimately futile experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/nothing-can-prepare-you-for-living-or-working-with-a-sociopathic/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [“The 'bad guys' are the ones who are often misunderstood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-myklusch/the-bad-guys-are-the-ones-who-are-often-misunderstood/) [Matt Myklusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-myklusch/) > [As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life. The rest of human life we feel is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/as-evangelical-christians-we-have-tended-to-relegate-art-to-the-very/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [“Mental illness People assume you aren’t sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-roy/mental-illness-people-assume-you-aren-t-sick-unless-they-see-the/) Emm Roy > [In my long and colorful career, one thing stands out: I have been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/in-my-long-and-colorful-career-one-thing-stands-out-i-have-been/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/to-refrain-from-storytelling-is-perhaps-one-of-the-highest-forms-of/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) > [TEENAGER the most misunderstood people on earth, treated like children but expected to act like adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teenager-the-most-misunderstood-people-on-earth-treated-like-children/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Until you have stood in another woman’s stilettos, you will never begin to know the year of pain she felt breaking them in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/until-you-have-stood-in-another-woman-s-stilettos-you-will-never/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) [Browse all 784 Misunderstood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Saroyan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is-probably-that-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Misunderstood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is-probably-that-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/william-saroyan-1743_misunderstood_the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is_1007897.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.” — William Saroyan", "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": "William Saroyan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best that can be said...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is-probably-that-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-best-that-can-be-said-for-anybody-is-probably-that-you/#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 } } ] } ```