16/03/2026
Benjamin Franklin’s "Mastery of the Tongue"
In his youth, Benjamin Franklin was known for being incredibly clever, but also very argumentative and sarcastic. He realized that even though he was "winning" arguments, he was losing friends and influence. To fix this, he added Silence as the second of his "13 Virtues" for self-improvement.
His rule was:
"Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
He even went a step further, he stopped using words like "certainly" or "undoubtedly" and replaced them with "I conceive" or "I imagine." By being more silent and less certain, he became one of the most respected diplomats in history.