"a diplomat ... is not worthy of the name unless he can say 'no' and make the other person like it - or at least not be offended by it."
"Conversation is much like a tennis game except that in tennis you try to put the ball in the most difficult position for the one who must hit it - while in conversation you must try to put it where it will be easy to hit."
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Source: Margery Wilson (1928). “Charm”
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More quotes by Margery Wilson
"The hope of any nation lies in the personal qualities of its individual members."
"Speaking of opinions, the charming woman does not air hers very freely. The crude woman is eager to let you know what she thinks of every matter, person or object that bobs up. She comments on every passing item - even in public, as you may have noticed. Not only is it bad taste for her to be so desperately interested in her own reactions and opinions - but she throws away the precious aura of reserve and mystery that makes a woman attractive."
"The steadily inward look leads us all to death, nations as well as persons, and is equally infantile in them all. Perhaps the most useful thing I have learned in my lifetime is that the process of maturing gradually turns the mind away from the small-self to the greater-self that is only served by serving others."
"they're the sort of people one invites to lunch or tea, but never to dinner."
"So few people can think and talk at the same time."