Practice Six – Creating Positive Dialogue by Redirecting with Quotes

Through the use of:

Quotes and Proverbs -
- Display posters for easy visual reference.
- When introducing, teach the meaning and discuss how to apply it in real-life situations. For educational settings, see Life Principle Mind Map for the School Environment.
- Use a pair share discussion first and then have members journal briefly on the meaning and general and personal application.
- Have the group or individuals create a quote/proverb notebook to use as a reference.
- When possible, give background on the author or offer opportunity for members to bring background information to the group.
- As appropriate use to redirect individual or group behavior.
  - Suggestion: Make it a procedure to have the members end the quote once you begin it. This makes sure they are engaged and reinforces it in their memory. This strategy may be used as a callback, to refocus after an activity or the beginning of new instruction.

Examples: (green links are to printable posters of the quotes)

Old Dialogue	New Dialogue
“Fighting gets you nowhere!” *“Name calling just isn’t allowed in here!”*	*“We must all live together as brothers or perish alone as fools.” - Martin Luther King Jr.* *“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.”- Marcus Aurelius* *“I will speak ill of no man and speak the good I know of everybody.” - Benjamin Franklin*
*“Please finish your work. It’s due at the end of class today!”*	*“No bees, No honey, No work, No money.” Author Unknown* “Continuous effort– not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.--Winston Churchill “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all. --Author Unknown
*“ All right, quit your talking!”*	*“If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.” --Mark Twain*
*“I can’t do this! It’s too hard.”*	*“All things are difficult before they are easy.” --Thomas Fuller* *“The right angle to approach a difficult problem is the TRY-angle.” - Author Unknown* *Take the 't' off of can't and say, "I CAN!" - Author Unknown*
*“This isn’t very good; I was in a hurry.”*	“Be satisfied with nothing less than your best.” - Edward Rowland Sill
*“ I just can’t get it right. I always make mistakes.”*	“If you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything.” — Marva Collins *“100 mistakes is an education if you learn from every one.” — Author Unknown* “Mistakes are stepping stones to success.” — Author Unknown
*“If you’d just learn to work together, it would get done a lot faster.”*	*"If we don't all row the boat won't go." Author Unknown* *"Teamwork Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." --Henry Ford*