it is not what you say, it is the way you say it
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
The manner of expression is more important than the content
Literally: the words vs. the tone or delivery
Examples
Her apology sounded insincere, proving that it's not what you say, it's the way you say it
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “it is not what you say, it is the way you say it” mean?
The manner of expression is more important than the content Literally: the words vs. the tone or delivery
Is “it is not what you say, it is the way you say it” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.