Edward Tufte Quotes

I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.

I just feel like content is content; people want to see it resonate.

Part of the gestation of 'The Wall' was this business of alienation from the audience, and so the interesting thing was, what 'The Wall' eventually became was something that absolutely engaged the audience.

If you ask questions that interest you, you'll get answers that interest your audience.

Long speeches work if they’re filled with substance.

When you don't talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you.

I'm obsessed with audiences and obsessed with the journey that an audience goes on.

You could be the World's greatest orator and if you don't say anything while orating, they are going to walk out on you after a while.

It's not how many followers you have, it's how many care. It's not width, it's depth. It's not how many impressions you get, it's how much attention you get.

The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience.

You need to have a reader's sympathy in order to accomplish anything. It's like at a reading, I find it's better to read something funny than to read something tragic. It just goes over better because you have a finite amount of time with somebody. Of course, in a book, you have a lot of time. But you still do want to make a certain impression right when you begin.

Sure there's a difference with puppet-craft - who cares? I don't care about the puppet-craft, I care about what works. Who cares about the puppet and craft? It's not about that. It's about compelling an audience, and touching an audience in some way.

Unless you're a terribly bad writer, you are never going to have too many readers.

Why the brevity? Because I'd rather people read my book twice than only half-way through

For me, a great show is when there's a great rapport with the band and the audience, and we're all really into it. The first trick is to bring the audience into the band, break the ice, have a life, and be one, so you can enjoy the next hour and a half together.

The most important thing to remember is you must know your audience.

If you're bored, your readers will be bored. If you're faking it, you won't get the kind of readers you want.

I think the worst thing you can do is take an arrogant approach and not give people enough content to wrap their heads around.

Membership of an organisation is good, as long as you can make yourself heard.

If your words or images are not on point, making them dance in color won't make them relevant.

My objective is to satisfy [my] audience so they come back the next day.

People paused to listen to Denise Chávez and she had them - with gum on her shoes, she had them. She said she stepped on gum when she came up to the stage and she couldn't move, so she had to stay in one spot otherwise people would see the Chiclet.

I've found great virtue in two-thirds of the way into the message; right before I'm really want to nail home a point, pausing to tell a joke or to tell a light-hearted story, because I know my audience has been working with me now for 20 or 25 minutes. And if I can get them to laugh, get oxygen into their system, it wakes up those who might be sleeping, so there's something about using a story to draw people back in right before you drive home your final point. In that case I think it's real legitimate just to use a story for story's sake.

The best way to make friends with an audience is to make them laugh. You don't get people to laugh unless they surrender - surrender their defenses, their hostilities. And once you make an audience laugh, they're with you. And they listen to you if you've got something to say. I have a theory that if you can make them laugh, they're your friends.