Ry Cooder Quotes

For my next trick I will make everyone understand me.

You have to put up with the risk of being misunderstood if you are going to try to communicate.

When we use terms we get confused, yet we have no other way.

I have never had a problem with people not being able to understand the words and the meanings in Titus.

Between what I think, what I want to say, what I believe I say, what I say, what you want to hear, what you believe to hear, what you hear, what you want to understand, what you think you understand, what you understand...They are ten possibilities that we might have some problem communicating. But let's try anyway...

Something gets lost when you translate. It's hard to keep straight. Perspective is every thing.

Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on. "I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know." "Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

One of the hardest things in the world is to convey a meaning accurately from one mind to another.

Now, what we are not talking about, what you're really coming to, is what compromises one makes so that the listener understands somewhat of what you're doing, what you're trying to express.

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.

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.

For me, until I know that the audience really gets what I'm trying to communicate I'm not done.

Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.

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

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.

I think it's important for people to always understand what is the context is in what is being said, because that obviously determines what folks are talking about.

Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.

Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.

Speak to men according to their mental capacities, for if you speak all things to all men, some cannot understand you and so fall into errors.

I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me understand something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country.

If you don't know what is being said, the rest of the actor's work is wasted.

I want people to make sense of what I'm talking about.

I am not good at making people understand certain things.