Pico Iyer Quotes

Words are how people think. When you misuse words, you diminish your ability to think clearly and truthfully.

It's technically extremely difficult to get down what you really mean, not what you think you mean, or what you think sounds good, but what's really there, what you really have to express, in words that somehow convey that meaning in an approximate way.

People like to say, 'What do you mean exactly?' I would answer, 'I mean, but not exactly.'

I really value words. I really try to illustrate and let people draw their own conclusions.

I've learned that I need to spell out, even in cases seemingly so blatant, that in fact I am not taking this at face value and am being 'sarcastic.'

Where questions of style and exposition are concerned I try to follow a simple maxim: if you can't say it clearly you don't understand it yourself.

Sometimes when you start losing detail, whether it's in music or in life, something as small as failing to be polite, you start to lose substance.

There's a great power in words, if you don't hitch too many of them together.

Something's that written out is okay, but it's not always a clear indication of what a person means.

They place great stress on the clarity of our language for expressing nuances and showing subtleties.

Language is a tool adequate to provide any degree of precision relevant to a particular situation.

How or by what magic is it, that we convey our thoughts to one another with such case and accuracy?

Words are made for a certain exactness of thought, as tears are for a certain degree of pain. What is least distinct cannot be named; what is clearest is unutterable.

I was born into a profession in which my love of words, chosen with care for their meaning and nuance, was extremely important, not only to me, but also to the people with whom I worked with.

I think that words are often extraneous to what I do.

People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me, it is exactly the opposite, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words.

I love the right words. I think economy and precision of language are important.

It’s not what you say; it’s what people hear.

The more clearly you write, the more easily and surely you will be understood.

Language is powerful. Words matter.

one does not only wish to be understood when one writes; one wishes just as surely not to be understood.

It's the periods and the commas that you have to forget about. The words never change, but the intonations change.

Aiming at brevity, I become obscure.

The finest words in the world are only vain sounds if you can't understand them. The best sentence? The shortest.